i liked, even though i did like it, it was senator mcconnell's reactions to her material. >> it's not easy being mitch mcconnell. after three in washington, you've just given up. i hold you accountable and i don't need outlaws to track you down. thank you. >> he doesn't even move. not a single twitch, nothing. either mitch mcconnell has through years' long control of breathing a deep state or that man is dead inside. >> good morning. it is thursday, august 7th. good to have you with us. you're taking a live look at new york city. sure is a lot better doing this show, harold ford, when it's light outside. >> always helps. it lifts the mood a little bit. >> better than february where it's, like, cold and dark until,

like, 2:30 in the afternoon. we've got harold ford, brian sullivan, elise vivek, and visiting former democratic candidate harold ford jr. and in washington senior political editor in college, sam stein. how are you doing today, sam? >> i'm good. ready for class. >> you think you'll be going to red sox playoff games again this year? >> no. >> not at all. it's looking kind of ugly, yeah. >> pretty bad. >> harold, i'm glad you're here. i'm glad you're all here. >> why is it dark in d.c. but light in new york? >> it's always dark in d.c., be honest. >> it's unbelievable speaking of depressing situations. you guys are going to have to explain this inversion thing to me, because i don't get it.

i don't understand why american companies can take their companies overseas, gain all the benefits of being here, and dodge taxes. the white house doesn't understand that either. and they plan to crack down on american companies that are dodging taxes. not avoiding taxes, dodging taxes. and this of course adds another layer to the debate over presidential powers. president obama announced he's going to act as soon as possible to stop what is known as inversion. that's when companies move their headquarters out of america so they don't have to pay american tax rates and you do. >> it's not fair. it's not right. the lost revenue to treasury means it's got to be made up somewhere and that's typically going to be a bunch of hard working americans who either pay through higher taxes themselves or through reduced services. i think it's something that would really bother the average american. i think most american companies are proud to be american, recognize the benefits of being

american, and are responsible and willing to pay their fair share of taxes. i never have a green light. i'm bound by the constitution. i'm bound by separation of powers. there's some things we can't do. and we're going to make sure that every time we take one of these steps that we are working within the confines of my executive power, but i promise you the american people don't want me just standing around twiddling my thumbs and waiting for congress to get something done. >> just last month, however, treasury secretary jack lew suggested the administration may have to go through congress to address the issue. >> we have looked at the tax code. there are a lot of obscure provisions in the tax code. we do not believe we have the authority to address this inversion question through administrative action. if we did, we would be doing more. that's why legislation is needed. that's why we proposed it in our

budget. >> so that's the focus of "the wall street journal" editorial this morning saying the president sounds like he's going to be writing the tax code by executive fiat which violates the constitution separation of powers. i guess, harold, come on. okay, so we've got harold ford jr., you're a professor. you work on wall street. so you understand this stuff. and we have brian sullivan. you work at cnbc. that's all i can say for you. you guys need to explain -- no, i love you. you guys need to explain to me why is it that americans with american corporations with their families living in america, being educated in america, using public school systems, getting all the benefits of being an american can move their corporation overseas, dodge taxes, and make everybody's tax rates that's watching the show right now higher. why is that the right thing to

do, harold ford? >> couple things. first, these companies are still paying taxes on money generated in the u.s. what's happening is money generating overseas which many companies aren't bringing back anyway. people want to enact some sort of holiday -- >> but they're not moving overseas for their health. they're moving to dodge taxes. >> they're not paying american tax rates on money generated overseas. >> but they're still moving their corporations overseas. if you're an american corporation and you live in america and you work in america and your family lives in america and you want to move to switzerland, they're doing it to save taxes. not because they cheered for the swiss soccer team in the world cup. they're cheating the system. why is that the right thing to do? >> i'm not saying it is. i'm just laying out the facts. >> why are you defending this, harold? for god's sake -- >> can i answer the question? i just want to answer the question. >> thank you for going to him

and not me at 6:00 in the morning. >> this makes me sad. >> we have a set of tax laws that are complicated and should be fixed and streamlined. one of the ironies in this conversation is democrats when we talk about the border situation, they want to reform the entire law. and when it comes to tax inversions, republicans want to deal only with a broad system. i'm surprised the president can do it. i don't know how he finds it. >> would you support it if the president of the united states could figure out a way to do this legally? >> sure. of course. if he can figure out a way to do it legally. i think a majority of people would. but you asked why are they doing it. they have every right to do it? is it unpatriotic? i think it's unfair to call them corporate deserters. most of the companies doing this are competing globally. >> they're making working class americans pay higher taxes.

>> we should fix this code. >> if they want to leave america, they can take their families with them and they can take their dogs with them and their cats with them and their nannies with them. >> you asked me to talk about this. >> not that i'm being a populist here. brian sullivan, do you have an explanation. >> first off, harold said it very well. and thank you for just taking the beating why that. i sat here and grinned for once. so you're making an important point. and i agree, it's totally distasteful. but the tax code was written by congress. are there a couple former congressmen on set here? the u.s. tax code is 70,000 pages long. you know how long the tax code is in hong kong? 400 pages. forget about inversions for a second. what you're going to see in the future unless congress or the president gets its act together, michael kors, a name we all know, they're in hong kong. samsonite, ipo'ing in hong kong.

they're just starting there even though they're doing the same thing because it's a 400-page tax code. >> let me ask, why can't congress do something? >> republicans aren't interested in doing something because right now they are bowing to the right pressure from libertarians who see this as the pinnacle of economics. they want corporations to be able to go here or there. right now president obama is under pressure from senate democrats to act on his own. which is going to bring up the question of whether he's constitutionally legal to do that. >> sam stein, you're up. >> if they could, they should. if they have the right to do it, they should. you can't pass laws if there were were a republican president others would be complaining. >> do republicans really want to go back to their districts saying i'm going to stand in the way of allowing american

corporations to move overseas. so working class americans have to pay higher taxes. because they're dodging taxes. >> i don't know if they'd phrase it like that. >> but that's exactly what's happening. >> yeah. i think what they've been saying, essentially, is that instead of doing something simply on inversions that this is an opportunity to tackle tax reform more broadly. and, you know, that's a -- there's a case to be made that corporate tax reform was one of these low-hanging fruits that lawmakers couldn't get around to doing for a variety of reasons. maybe this would be the catalyst to do it. but the counterargument is more effective which is that -- you shouldn't not do one thing because you're hoping to do the other. that you can do something on inversions before you go doing something on corporate tax reform at large. and so i think the pressure will ramp up for lawmakers when you go back to the districts. if it reaches the constituent

level. the problem the administration is facing is they're worried about a cascading effect. they're worried that companies will get worried about a forthcoming rule and suddenly a bunch of them in a row will do this inversion. and you can't put that genie back in the bottle. >> yesterday walgreens stepped back from doing piit. >> yesterday the president said it may be all right, but it's not the right thing to do. walgreens stepped back from the pressure. other american companies need to feel the pressure of this. certainly republicans need to step forward. this is just a two-year moratorium. just say we're putting a moratorium on this until president obama leaves office. two years, maybe that stops companies from moving overseas. but this is ridiculous. let's move to kentucky. former president bill clinton looked as comfortable as ever as he was playing surrogate for alison lundergan grimes in kentucky. watch this. >> i love kentucky.

you've been -- you've been good to me. you voted for me twice. and you've been good to hillary and i appreciate that. you know, i don't pay too close attention, but as i remember, she won a primary election here by 37 points. i appreciate that. >> sam stein -- >> not paying close attention, just knows the exact percentage she won the primary by. >> not keeping score, but she won by 37 percentage points. bill clinton is there to shore up support for a democrat who is not popular in all areas of kentucky because of coal and some other issues. >> true. there's a reason bill clinton is there and not barack obama, right? barack obama has a disapproval

rating in the state. so you don't send him down to stump for alison lundergan grimes. bill clinton has some cachet in there. his wife did better in the primary. he did well there. so he's the surrogate. and i have a feeling -- i don't have a feeling. you can gain this on the reporting that he's going to be much more present on the trail this fall than barack obama will. >> and, elise, the race is going to be a barn burner. mitch mcconnell i think upside down in kentucky. not popular in his home state. this race is extraordinarily close. this is one race where a guy like bill clinton could make a difference. >> i agree. bill clinton is extraordinarily popular. look at mitch mcconnell. he doesn't have a surrogate out there working for him who is as popular as the clintons at this point. his wife came out and tried to rebut attacks against him, but i'm not as sure this will be

effective for him. right now the clintons have a corner on the market. >> mitch still has rand paul. he's pretty popular in the state. >> this is the state, too, where they don't have the issue of obamacare. no state has been as successful with the state implementation of obamacare. >> it seems the president wouldn't be the one to come down. she wants president clinton. that health care law to your point, performing better there. >> they don't associate it with obamacare. it's the state exchange. >> despite the successes of obamacare, it's just to loss. politically it is just a loss. >> why do you think that is? >> even in kentucky, joe? >> i think it's just too big. >> i think her point is a good one. they give the state management of it the credit. >> you look at the last two presidencies and you have george

w. bush coming in promising to have a humble foreign policy. 9/11 comes up, changes absolutely everything. his entire administration is defined that way. and then you have barack obama saying he's going to be a new democrat. you've got the crash, you've got the bank bailouts that george w. bush and barack obama both supported. you had the stimulus package and all these other things. then you had this massive health care reform plan. he was defined out of the gate. he was defined as a big government liberal. >> has not been able to shake it. >> certainly not in these elections. it's done all right for him in presidential elections. >> you all have helped us out with great nominees you've given us. >> we do our best. >> and the administration has not messaged the law well. i think that's very clear. there's almost no american who understands exactly what's going on with the health care law. i think if people understood, maybe they would put it together a bit more. but this is going to be a noose around their neck far long time. >> there's a great piece in the

journal saying how it's cutting cost. >> when you say no american understands it you also mean congress. >> that's absolutely true. >> they didn't understand it when they passed it. >> because hopefully they're americans. can we ship congress over? can they invert? can congress move to the haig? >> that would be awesome. new quinnipiac polls coming from new jersey. head-to-head, hillary clinton versus chris christie and the winner is hillary clinton. 50% to 42%. favorable 60%, unfavorable 38% for clinton. for chris 47% favorable, 47% unfavorable. you talk about candidates and it helps the republicans in presidential election years. mike huckabee was talking yesterday about, sam stein, that impeachment for president obama

would be justified. said we don't have the votes in the senate so we shouldn't do it, but this talk of impeachment keeps doubling up. >> those damn democrats keep bringing it up. oh, wait, it was mike huckabee this time. i'm confused where it stands in the republican party. do they think it's a legitimate path to pursue? i can't tell. when mike huckabee makes comments, he's actually probably hurting his party more. he's helping the democrats fund raise. i imagine there's some people in d.c. that would wish he wouldn't talk about it. >> i don't think it's helpful at all. this is mike huckabee in iowa talking about how president obama could be impeached. >> has this president done anything worthy of being impeached in your view? >> absolutely. there's no doubt that he's done plenty of things worthy of impeachments. it's an important argument to make there are a number of things this president has done

in overuse of executive power, his complete ignoring of the law. >> i mean, it's -- i know mike huckabee. it's unfortunately he's traveling down that path to try to create credibility for a candidacy. this is not democrats doing it. it's a credible candidate on the republican side. the numbers you showed with hillary clinton and chris christie, one of the great advantages she has is she's been through an impeachment. number two, what else can be said about her that has not already been said? we talk about unfavorables and favorables, where we talk with others on the scene we may learn something that could change opinion. >> we still have more to learn about hillary. the book tour showed us. i would not be thrilled with the way she's performed over this summer. >> i hear you. but what can you learn about hillary clinton? she's been in the public -- >> we're still learning a lot. >> i disagree.

i think we've consumed so much about the clintons. don't get me wrong, we learned she has a 40 inch vertical and can run a 40 yard dash. >> how'd you get to hillary off of impeachment? >> you just showed a poll with christie -- >> that was a story behind. >> i'm sorry. we're on impeachment. who said it? >> can she really run that? >> my goodness. >> this is a great case for mitt romney. >> it is. so i'm going to take control back here just for a second. so let's -- we've seen sort of the harsher side of the republican image. let's soften it now. to congressman justin amash. he won and this was his acceptance speech. very gracious towards the candidate he just beat.

>> i want to say to lobbyists, you are a disgrace. and we could hand you one more loss before you faded into total obscurity and irrelevance. >> okay. that's bringing a party together. i don't know what you did, harold ford, after really tough elections. i will tell you what i did. i picked up the phone and i went over and i talked to the person that i beat and i told them i was lucky to win. i mean, i ran -- i had some people say some nasty things about me. >> i remember. >> and you just bury it and you go straight over there and say i was lucky. you're so much smarter than i

am. i shouldn't have won. will you help me in the fall? i'm serious. that's what you do. look at this. >> somebody should play "reunited" because it feels so good. >> i like that. >> it used to be both sides. democrats would go to republicans and vice versa. but to see the intraparty stuff. to watch this young fella not be gracious after a win is -- >> when you win, smile, walk off the court. >> back to brian's point about inversion. >> i want to make the point, his opponent called him, i think, al qaeda's best friend in congress. so it's not like, you know -- >> i had a few things and joe had a few things too. >> would you like to hear some of the things that harold ford had hurled at him? >> no, i remember that. and it was terrible. but justin amash is just being honest. he's just not faking it. it's almost refreshing.

>> i agree with that. refreshing. you imagine that people have to feel this way after a blistering race, right? and he's getting all this attention. i say, why not. >> go home and do it. >> exactly. >> this is the millennial right here. this is what we got to look forward to. >> it's only go toiing to get w. >> you're a disgrace and your appearance on "morning joe" was -- >> if he didn't, we'd have nothing to talk about right now. >> you've got to leave it behind. anyway, hawaii is bracing for a hurricane event this morning. something that they haven't seen in 20 years. not just one storm, but two storms bringing threats of severe wind and rain over the course of several days. an emergency proclamation was signed at schools on the main island today. jim cantore joins us live from hawaii. jim, man, a double hit. this is not a double rainbow,

man. this is a double hurricane. it's ugly. >> yeah, it is. when you think about paradise, it was amazing because when we walked in last nuight, we came from atlanta, it took us 15 minutes to check in because the phone was constantly ringing at the front desk. hey, we're canceling, we're canceling too. the good news is the residents in hawaii are taking this very seriously like they had 22 years ago with iniki. nobody forgets that. that was a powerful hurricane that destroyed homes, took lives. they don't want to see that happen again. they're shutting it down. the proclamation helps that. i'm here in downtown hilo and there's probably about two out of a hundred buildings that have boarded up. you can see here, pan this over, you pretty much got glass and then sidewalk. that's about it out through here. and so people need to be taking

this seriously. we get 80 mile-per-hour winds, any piece of debris can go through that glass pretty easily. that's something people obviously are considering. but we may see more and more of that today. we're expecting the worse of this to come in in about 8 to 12 hours and last overnight in hawaii as you go through your daytime hours there. we'll take what we can get. power outages are definitely going to be expected. we're going to have power line down. we're going to have trees down as well. especially in higher elevations because we may get 80 to 90 miles per hour at the surface, but go up and you're going to get up to 120 miles per hour. we're hoping for the best here and hopefully julio will track far enough north to not impact us as bad as iselle is going to do which is going to be in the next 8 to 12 hours. back to you. >> jim cantore, thank you so much. stay safe. we greatly appreciate it. still ahead on "morning joe," you may know her from her

super bowl ads or the most accomplished indy race car driver of all time, danica patrick is here. and up next, why republicans think their car handle app uber. and talk about a rough stay at work. we'll tell you what this teacher did to end up in jail. you're watching "morning joe." speaking of jail, jim vandehei is here. that's next. everybody's excited about the back to school savings at staples. from the customers, to the staples associates. with guaranteed low prices on laptops, you'll flip out! now go tell your friends. staples. make more happen for less. you fifteen percent or more on huh, fiftcar insurance.uld save

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♪ it's time to take a look at the morning papers. we start in minneapolis with the minneapolis star tribune. the ncaa is going to vote today to move one step close tore paying student athletes. hear hear. they have faced mounting criticism for failing to share its revenues with students.

the ncaa scholarship policies fail to compensate students for traveling and competing especially since most don't go into the pros. some 18-year-old kid has a jersey, it makes a zillion dollars for a big university and his mom can't even afford to come to the games to watch him play. that's just sick. >> you've had your friend on the show make this case. they should get a stipend. and they should be able to come back and get whatever degree they request for for the rest of their life. >> auburn's been playing their players for years. i'm joking! i'm still burned up about that field goal return last year. i'll never get over it. and from the telegraph, a new study says taking aspirin every day can drastically reduce the risk of developing various types of cancers. doctors say people should take between 75 to 100 milligrams of aspirin for at least five years to see results.

those between 50 and 65 would need to take it for up to 10 years. aspirin can also increase the risk of bleeding in the stomach. >> did ari emanuel write that story? >> he told me. ari is like an aspirin freak. and he's like, take an aspirin. take two aspirins. take one for your heart and one for cancer. i go, baby aspirin? he said let me ask you a question, joe. are you a baby? >> so do you take it? >> of course i do. >> you look healthy. >> ari says it stops heart attacks and cancer. come on. he's my agent. >> we'll check in with you in a couple years. >> yeah. >> see how that works for you. >> yeah. we'll see how that works as i bleed out, right? from the oklahoman, a teacher has been arrested after showing up to her first day on the job drunk. that's just something you should not do. also if you're going to show up and i know it depends on what

college you go to to get your education, there's two things not to do. one, don't show up drunk on your first day. two, don't show without any pants. she showed up drunk and without any pants. and she got arrested. thank god. thankfully students did not return from summer vacation yet and only teachers were in school during the incident. witnesses say she walked to an empty classroom, claimed it as her own and took off her pants. it happens. police also found vodka in her car. she was charged with public intoxication. >> bless her heart. >> but she takes aspirin. two a day. no cancer. >> from the vancouver sun, an employee is selling his name cards. he thought it would be a way to raise money for children's wish on the ebay page he says, quote,

i hope my old business card will go to an apple enthusiast with a good sense of humor. so far he's raised over $3,000. there obviously is not a lot to talk about today in the papers. this, though, for music fans this is a fascinating fact. fascinating fact. can you believe that in 37 years tom petty has never had a number one album? not until this week. they landed their first number one album on the billboard charts this week with "hypnotic eye." that's petty's best sales weekend since tracking started in 1991. while this seems like a long wait, crooner tony bennett waited 54 years until he had his first number one record in 2011. they want me to tell you the

song is called "fault lines." this song is "fault lines." thank you. and now let's bring in jim vandehei with the politico playbook. who thank god, not drunk. >> take aspirin. >> and the boy's got his pants on. >> you don't know. >> that's true. >> the boy's got his pants on, okay? so you at least got that going for you. >> i do. >> here i got to ask you a question. i don't know much about politics, but if i'm scott walker and i'm running in a close race, a lot of people think he may not win. i'm looking to the rga. the republican governors association. to give me a lot of money because i want to run as president. who will be making the decision whether scott walker gets the money from the rga to win? >> that'd be one chris christie. that's a loaded question. he is in trouble. i mean, we talk about scott

walker as being one of the leading candidates. >> i love scott walker. >> he's not going to get the republican nomination. it's his calling card. and i think the last two polls scare the walker camp. it's the reason the rga is going to have to pump in at least $2.5 million. >> why is he running so tight? >> he's a controversial figure. it's always going to be a close race. she's a decent candidate with a lot of money. but walker is an exceptionally polarizing figure in that state. his margin of error is very narrow. even when it looked like he was doing better, the margin of error was still relatively low. if he loses that, it's done. he's not going to be the candidate. >> is chris christie going to write the checks? who's he running against again? mary burke. if a hurricane comes through wisconsin like a week before the

election, will he go had hug mary burke? >> absolutely. >> okay. i'm just joking with you, chris. i'm just joking. so i am surprised this race is as close as it is. >> i wouldn't be that surprised. my home state is -- it is such a weird state politically right now. it's been 50/50. it's one that republicans -- if you look at that map and think about 2016 and all the reasons that hillary clinton or whoever is going to have an advantage, it's that the map fundamentally gives an edge to democratic candidates. if you can't flip a place like wisconsin or virginia or ohio or iowa, you're not going to win. his calling card has to be i won wisconsin. i can deliver wisconsin. >> it seems like wisconsin is like pennsylvania. republicans talk about winning it in april or may and always lose it. so let's talk about uber. the gop thinks they're going to start winning elections by targeting uber users. tell us about it. >> i think it's relevant to any user who lives in a city that

uses uber. i love it. >> why do you love it? >> it's so convenience. i've used it hundreds of times and it's flawless. always gets you there without nonsense. >> you're saying for a guy like me that travels around on the subway -- >> you've got like a stretch limo. >> you're saying this would be a good thing for me to get off the subway. sometimes i bike around. >> i'd like to see you in a helmet. >> i look great. >> but for republicans they look at uber and say who uses it, young professional entrepreneurs in the cities where they're getting crushed politically. and so they've started this fund raising drive, this e-mail petition saying it's democrats trying to stifle uber because they want you to drive the crappy cabs in the city. it will resonate with a certain group of people. i don't think a city is going to vote for a republican. >> of course not but it's a good idea anyway. i can't afford the cabs. that's why i'm on the subway.

>> walk. get a fitbit. you can walk. >> thank you jim vandehei. and thank you for wearing pants. coming up next, she's an athlete and worldwide brand. danica patrick is standing by. she's next on "morning joe." ♪ when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work.

that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

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hi, i'm danica patrick with a special offer from go daddy. right now you can -- tony. tony. >> my bad. >> and action. >> hi, i'm danica -- hi, i'm danica patrick -- hi -- are you serious? >> cut. >> okay. here's danica's special. get website builder for $1. at go daddy.com. >> danica! >> oops. >> some of the best ads and it's all because of her. here with us now, the one and only female nascar sprint cup series driver danica patrick. mike barnicle is here also along with myself. i was in the prompter to read my own name. that was kind of odd. >> that was self-involved. >> do you call yourself tommy? >> only when i'm not around here. in third person.

danica, it's nice to have you here. >> danica's happy to be here. >> everybody's excited to have you here. but explain first of all what are you doing here? why would you come see us? >> what else do i have to do at 4:30 in the morning on a thursday? we well, i'm here to talk about a sunglass brand launch. >> who looks better? let's vote. let the fans vote. >> side by side, please. can i get a fan? >> i think there's a winner but it ain't you. >> i got a fan. >> you can't do a photoshoot without a fan and the hair blowing. it's essential. >> this has fallen off here. >> that is great. >> that was perfect. >> how about can i get the fan on you. >> all right, brian, ask a question.

>> i think it's fantastic. the move to nascar, i mean, you have to understand danica is the most famous race car driver in the united states. as an indycar fan, your departure crushed me. but i understand why you had to. because nascar is where it's at. >> so why did you make the switch? he's never going to get to it. >> i was trying to draw the interview out. >> it's been drawn out long enough. why did you make the switch? >> because i was ready for a change. i thought the changes in indycar had gone so much towards road course racing and what i realized when i raced indycar was i really enjoyed racing on the ovals. you're racing against everyone else. when you're on a road course, you're so much racing against yourself. would you agree or disagree with that? >> i would agree with that. why is there not more yet -- nascar's had a huge push for diversity. not just female driver but any driver. bubba wallace has done great in

trucks. why not more diversity in nascar many. >> doing my best. >> you're paving the way. >> what i really realized with coming to nascar is it's very american. down, it's very southern based. everybody's in charlotte. you know, everybody's a good ole boy. you know? i'm trying to be a good ole girl. and i just think it's so southern based and it's still evolving. indycar has been around a hundred years. i mean, there's the hundred years that indy 500 whereas daytona is at 50. >> what do you have to do as a driver mentally to get yourself up? the difference between running an oval and a road race? >> well, again, it's more about racing against other people than on the road courses it's racing against yourself. so it's very much, you got to have a fast car for sure. you do on both, but you can -- there's so much less i feel like you can do if the car doesn't handle well on the road course.

>> do you feel you've been accepted in the club? it's such a guy's club. >> that's part of the reason i went to nascar because many years before i was in it i went to some races just to dip my toe in. and everybody was extremely nice. and they really were welcoming. so that made me feel comfortable. to be honest, even if i wasn't that accepted, i would find a way. >> you wouldn't care. >> you just have to -- that's how you become accepted. >> you are a brand yourself, you're an incredible athlete, great driver. but you'll still appear in "sports illustrated." you'll do the sexy shoot. and there's a difference that you present than other drivers. how do you balance that? >> there's the funny side with go daddy and the stylish side with the watches and those things.

it's about being who you are. i've been lucky enough in my career i've been able to be who i am and align myself with brands that are extensions of my personality. and i think that's what creates longevity. if you just take whatever you can along the way, then nobody believes it anymore. >> so when did you first decide, you know what? i'm going to race cars. >> i was ten. >> all other girls were playing with barbies and you were like, i want to race cars. >> my sister was 8 and i was 10 and she wanted to race go carts because she thought it looked fun. we went to midget races on sunday nights and my dad would work on one of the cars. my sister wanted to race and i didn't want to get left out. then i realized i was pretty good at it. >> so the indy win was huge for you. i mean, it had to be. was that one of the most exciting moments of your life? >> i mean, i think that it was a big one, for sure. that's because everybody from

the people involved to casual fans can understand first place. >> and what will a nascar win -- there are a lot of drivers on the nascar circuit that don't have a win under their belt that have gone their entire career. what will a win mean for you on the nascar circuit? >> it will be a mission accomplished as far as i would love to win in indycar and in nascar. i think the stats that i love are the ones that are genderless stats. like how many drivers have led the indy 500 and the daytona 500. things like that. there are only 13 of us. those are the stats that are cool. to be a driver that's won in indycar and nascar, that would be cool to me. >> danica patrick, thank you so much. we're sorry you had to see brian in the shades. >> we look cool, right? >> you looked cool. >> thank you. you're the only one i like. >> it's about style. everybody have a good day. >> all right. have a good day. good luck this weekend at

watkins glen international which, by the way, just north of where i grew up in new york. >> there you go. that's the spot right there. got to get that pop right there. >> that is perfect. >> yeah. that's it. coming up, we've got mika's must read opinion pages. don't go away. ♪ [ female announcer ] take skincare to the next level

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middle east. >> we won't. we need you to weigh in on something important. brian said he was an athlete. we want you to see footage here and weigh in on it for us. >> oh. that's me. well, that's not the start. >> that doesn't look very fast. >> you're going slow. >> that's the pace lap. >> you're going 10 miles an hour. >> actually that was a month ago in houston as a support race for the indycar race. see the truck? i ended up on the podium. >> you did? good job. >> thank you very much, my friend. >> i see people in electric carts at target go faster. >> wait for the green flag. you talk about being an athlete, the impacts -- >> oh, just shut up. just shut up. >> they have done this before where drivers wear heart rate monitors and it's that of basically a runner's pace.

so for me on sundays, i do marathons. three to four hours long. and they do see spikes with restarts. >> we know you're an athlete. we know all these other nascar drivers are athletes. we just don't want him to talk about being an athlete. >> he qualifies on some level. >> on what level? i don't know. anyway, thank you for coming. >> the camera adds ten pounds. >> i know. it sucks, doesn't it? >> do we have four cameras here? that's 40 pounds. >> that's my excuse. >> i get ten. don't i get ten? i'm ten pounds lighter than i look, everybody. >> thank you for coming and good luck this weekend. >> thank you. coming up, we're going to check in with america's favorite 5-year-old and how he's coping with his newfound stardom. this kid is funny. >> because apparently you're spinning around and apparently every time you get dizzy. that's all you do is get dizzy. ♪

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okay. the greatest story, an update now on everybody's favorite redheaded 5-year-old noah ritter. he is the young phenom made famous for this interview with his frequent use of the word

"apparently." it's racked up 7 million youtube hits. and noah's grand dad told the local news the times tribune that they've received some 200 calls requesting interviews with young noah who is impressed. >> you seem like a pretty big star these days. >> yeah. now jimmy kimmel live called. jimmy kimmel live. this is never going to end. i'm going to be interviewed all night. >> cutest kid. noah told the paper he uses the word "apparently" when he can't think of what he should say. he said i've never been on live tv before and apparently this, you know, a great ride over here. i don't get to watch the news because by grand dad only lets me watch the power ball. >> 7 million hits. wow. >> he's a cute little guy. and he did well on youtube. >> apparently. coming up at the top of the hour, alison lundergan grimes

turning to bill clinton to help her race against mitch mcconnell and asking barack obama to stay away. plus imagine a russia without vladimir putin. what would that look like? we're going to be answering that question straight ahead when "morning joe" returns. ♪ wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tempted ♪ ♪ by the chocolate all around ♪ turn around brian!

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mike barnicle. >> i don't blame you. >> i've been shaken to my core. >> what's left? seriously. >> what is left to believe in? i eat oatmeal, okay? and i don't think i'm going to be able to keep it down. just saw "the new york post." oh, my god. come on. there are apparently jerry jones sex tapes out there. all right. good morning. holy cow. just the thought of it. oh, dear god. thomas roberts is here. elise vievek is here. along with sam stein in washington d.c. sam has a couple of sex tapes still out there.

>> just two. >> all right. also former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner. getting serious for a second. the "daily news." i am still floored that this man died for selling cigarettes that were untaxed. untaxed. ""the daily news"" has the story the order came from the number two cop at the nypd to go after, quote, loose cigarettes. cigarettes that aren't being taxed. and somebody dies because of it? asking him what, what, what, what. and they put a choke hold on him. >> it's just awful. we've got a lot to talk about. steve, i'm glad you're here. i asked harold ford about inversions and he didn't sound patriotic. he didn't sound like he loved

america. he didn't sound like he loves to be one of us. >> i watched harold squirm. >> so let's summarize this quickly. of course there are corporations that want to take their companies overseas because they want to dodge taxes. right? the white house is trying to crack down on american companies that are trying to dodge taxes by going overseas by adding another layer to the presidential powers. the president stepped in it yesterday by announcing he's going to act as soon as possible to do what he can to stop this inversion. jack lew, steve rattner, said about a month ago that he didn't think there was any way they could stop it. they're going to try to do whatever they can do. the president said he's not going to breach the constitution, but if there is, i think, an example of just how sick washington, d.c. is right now, it's this. the fact that they can't come together -- republicans and democrats can't come together on

capitol hill and come up with a plan to at least put a moratorium in place. there's one smart guy i talked to yesterday on wall street said at least do a moratorium until barack obama leaves office. then you can tackle tax reform to stop this from happening. these inversions are going to cost america at least $20 billion over the next decade. and as the president correctly points out, if the companies aren't paying the $20 billion, we are. our taxes go up, right? >> right. or the government deficit gets larger. this is one thing i can completely unambiguously wholeheartedly agree with you on. >> good. i am glad. >> with all due respect to our friend harold, there's no issue here. there's no justification for this practice. it is one that has grown and is gathering speed. >> why is it just gathering speed now? what's the deal? >> it's gathering speed for a

couple of reasons. first without getting too technical, there are other ways to evade taxes that were closed down a few years ago. so this got started. and the problem is that once one company in an industry does it, pharmaceuticals is where most of this is happening. when a company starts in an industry and suddenly they go from paying 35% tax to 12.5% tax in ireland. then the competitors look at it and say how do we compete against a guy paying less tax than we are? and what's enabled this is you have -- >> let me ask you this question. i heard the president of the united states say he believes the corporate tax rate should be lowered. republicans want it loweder. why can't they come to a deal? why can't they come to a deal on -- i guarantee you if i were campaigning this fall, i would be talking about this. and 98% of the people in my

district would say give them hell, joe. why can't republicans and democrats come together to stop people from evading taxes by going overseas? >> explain how easy it would be in a committee to just get a moratorium. >> not just the committee. tough go through floors of house and congress. >> you could write this in the paragraph and have a moratorium. and it's costing us $20 billion over the next decade. and working class americans, small business owners are the people that will absorb this from the corporations that go overseas. >> so now let me be slightly partisan in a way. if you had a moratorium, you couldn't do this. if you couldn't do this, then companies would not be able to reduce their tax bills. grover norquist and others would consider a tax increase. and grover norquist and others are opposed to that. the president has had a proposal -- >> you're saying grover norquist is opposed to us stopping

american companies from deserting their country and going overseas? >> you can call him up and ask him. >> i'm going to do that today. >> but i would not be surprised if he were opposed to putting in a moratorium. >> i know grover norquist loves americans and he would not support corporations putting a $20 billion tax bill on working class americans. >> okay. so the president has had a proposal since the beginning of last year, i believe, up on the hill -- >> by the way, i have no idea what grover's position is on this. but i'm going to find out today. >> but here's the fact. the president has had a proposal up on the hill for at least since the beginning of this year or last year. one of his budgets. i don't remember. that would curb this practice. it would put tests in that would make it hard to do this and it has gone nowhere. >> and elise you say it's because these corporations should be able to go over there.

>> i don't know what grover norquist thinks, but he's calling people up saying we're not going to support you in the election if you vote for "x," "y," "z." they need to get rid of popular deductions. do they want to do that before an election? would you want to be on the campaign trail saying we want to lower corporate tax rates, but in order to do that we have to get rid of your mortgage interest reduction. >> which why i'm saying put a moratorium on it. and then barack obama can say, hey, listen. i won't be part of the tax reform. take me completely out of it. let's keep these corporations in america so you're not going to be stuck with the $20 billion tax. >> norquist saying that flies in the face of what capitalism is about and he would reverse the conversation by saying there's $20 billion of wasteful spending flying out of washington, d.c.

find a way to make that money up. >> i think people like bill kristol have been talking about how republicans have got to disconnect from wall street. and not be apologists for wall street. and i think this is a great, great opportunity for republicans to do just that. you saw harold. we love harold. harold was squirming, though. there's no justification. i would pray to jesus that my opponent would try to defend corporations fleeing, republican or democrat alike. they would get laid low. >> in fairness to harold, he's also part of the morgan and stanley empire. when you're part of an empire, it's hard -- >> you stop that, now. stop. >> let me say one other thing. inversions are -- >> morgan stanley. that was below the belt, steve rattner. >> i'm trying to help harold. he was in an awkward position. inversions are difficult for

people to understand. there are a hundred other problems in the tax code and ways that companies game the tax code. all reforms have been stopped on capitol hill. >> we need to move ahead to russia now. let's get a moratorium. stop people from abandoning the country. don't let them do that. ask your congressman or senator to stump this whether or not they support it. russia is retaliating after the latest round of sanctions against moscow. putin issued a ban on food and imports. he says it's important to help security. remains concerned about a russian invasion of ukraine. he said a buildup of russian troops near the border suggest it's a possibility. u.s. officials say russia currently has 20,000 troops near eastern ukraine. with us now from washington, the senior editor of the new republic, julia yaffe.

the concerns grow about an invasion. and the stock market two days ago, yesterday, the sec says invasion is a possibility. what do you think? >> it's always been a possibility. let's clarify. this is a formal invasion. we've already seen evidence released by u.s. intelligence saying russia has shelling ukraine. when we're talking about invasion, there's basically already been an invasion of ukraine for months. this would just be something more formal. as to whether or not it will happen, i don't think anybody knows. the whole world is waiting for putin to decide. this is classic putin holding off the decision until the very last minute keeping all options open and keeping everybody in a state of suspense and guessing as to what he's going to do. i don't think even he knows whether he's going to invade

ukraine. >> you don't think russia would look much different without putin, why is that? >> just given -- i'd be happy to be surprised, but given the trajectory of russian history over the last hundred years, every iteration we've seen is on the same theme. the soviet system, the post-soviet system, the putin system. you know, what -- the reason we decided to address this topic at the new republic is because, you know, if sanctions do really work, if western sanctions do really work, it, you know, brings with it a whole set of consequences. which is economic turmoil in russia which historically has resulted in regime change. it's what brought down czar nicklas ii. everyone's been talking about world war i and the hundred-year

anniversary because of what happened this summer a hundred years ago. but that ended in the russian revolution in 1917. economic turmoil brought down the soviet union. it created vladimir putin. and because everything has kind of looked like the thing that came before it, you know, the soviet system was an improvement on the czar system. the current system is an improvement on both previous systems. i don't think there's much chance of the next iteration looking any different. >> you know, steve rattner, russia is such a challenge on so many fronts. we've talked about syria and iran. there's a story out in "the new york times" and other newspapers the other day that russia stole, like, 500,000 -- or 500 million -- >> 1.2 million, i think it was. >> what's that? billion with a "b." internet passwords.

>> it's not a benevolent force, and the problem with sanctions is that their impact is uncertain. sometimes they work. often they take a very, very long time. look how long we've been with north korea and iran. >> who howls first year? france, germany, or the united states with putin invoking reverse claims against us? >> everybody has a different agenda here. we are the largest e exporter of agricultural goods. the germans historically have a close relationship, but are standing up. they're being the most standup guys at the moment besides us about dealing with the russians. >> i think the people who howl, it's going to be russia who howls first. russia is extremely dependent. i mean, it's dependent on europe

for 40% of food and medicine. and everybody talks about europe's dependence on russian energy. nobody is more dependent on russian energy than russia. it is over 2/3 of its export -- over 2/3 of the russian federal budget comes from the export of energy. so if russia shuts that off, if europe sanctions that as well, then russia's -- the russian government will go belly up. >> it's interesting what this is starting to do already this past month we just had reports yesterday that our trade deficit went down considerably. it went down considerably because we're moving towards energy dependency. >> we know how strongly the eu states are dependent as clients of russia. so this will be interesting going forward. but i want to get back to how you brought up the 1.2 billion in passwords and information

that was stolen from fortune 500 companies to small websites. because this is something interesting that just crossed the wires about how edward snowden has been granted a three-year residence permit to stay in russia. so his one-year asylum permit expired on july the 31st and there was talk about how that was going to be maybe extended for one more year. putin has given a three-year residence permit so snowden can stay there for another period of 36 months. we know that brian williams just had that great sit-down interview with him where snowden revealed he was much more involved with the nsa and gave more about the background instead of being such low-level backgrounds. but now putin flying in the face of the sanctions of the u.s. and people scoffing at him, this is personal with what this guy means to putin, what we know snowden means to the u.s., how they would like to get him back here. >> everything seems personal.

resentment. >> it's still a big discussion on whether snowden is a traitor or whistle blower. >> sam stein. >> first of all, i read julia's piece. i highly recommend it. the basic premise as i understand it and correct me if i'm wrong is that in exchange for better economic conditions over time, putin gets the trust of the russian people to essentially do politics as he sees fit. as the russian economy is tanking, why have we seen his popularity numbers skyrocket? i think a most recent poll yesterday had him at 87% popularity rating. >> you're seeing that in part because in the nationalist fervor that's been whipped up not just over ukraine. that's been happening over the last two years. and it came as a response to protests in moscow over the winter of 2011-2012. these were middle class people that putin and then kremlin decided to brand as a western sponsored fifth column. so it all kind of started from

there and this nationalist fervor, being circled by enemies which is a historic idea. in russia it tends to work really well. that's part of the reason his ratings are going up. the other reason is he controls the television. and most russians still get their news from tv. so they're getting his take on things. of course they agree with him. >> all right. thank you so much. we greatly appreciate it. we do strongly recommend your piece. make sure you read it. still ahead on "morning joe," a key vote by the ncaa today could pave the way to student athletes. the commissioner of the big club joins us in the next hour. i think it's about time. >> given the money they make for universities. >> yeah. plus the rand paul revolution. why libertarians could be the key for the gop in 2016. an emergency meeting of the world health organization is now underway to contain the ebola

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♪ with us now from the white house, the chairman of the council of economic adviser jason fuhrmann. thank you for being with us. how do we stop companies from going overseas and leaving americans with the $20 billion tax bill? >> well, you should understand what a corporate inversion is is it's a two-step process. first you need to change your address overseas. even if your address is overseas, you're still supposed to be paying taxes here in the united states. so step two is you make it appear as if your profits were also earned overseas and not here in the united states. what we can do and what secretary lew is doing is looking at a whole range of actions that would make it harder for you to appear as if your profits were not earned in the united states which would

require you to pay taxes where you make your money. and that would affect the incentives of companies. >> what can the white house do to stop that? >> first of all, it's the treasury department. it's something secretary lew is looking at. he's look at the full list of actions you could take. but all of it gets that the law already says if you make money in the united states, you have to pay taxes in the united states. the problem is there's a lot of malleabili malleability. all of a sudden they show up in the other country where they're taxed more lightly. you have royalties in another country, your profits disappear and show up in another country. we're looking at things to make sure the tax system does what it's supposed to. tax the income you earn in the united states no matter what your address is. >> i have a question for you. we saw these comments from the president yesterday. we have to imagine that they're part of a larger public campaign to shame these companies. should we expect more of that

same rhetoric prior to the treasury department making any decisions? >> the president's going to be, you know, laying out the facts of the situation. and the situation here is very simple. if a company does this, they are continuing to take advantage of all of the services that their taxes would have paid for. now those services are going to be paid for by someone else. they're going to be paid for by you and me. or by cuts to something else. or they're going to disadvantage another one of their competitors that chooses to stay here in the united states. and that's something the president's going to still be -- he's going to be talking about that tradeoff. >> sam stein. >> hey, jason. two questions. one is the president or his top advisers having direct conversations with the ceos of these companies that have done inversion or thinking of doing inversion? and second question, does the administration have any ideas that they could withhold federal contracts as a punishment to these companies who do

inversions? >> in answer to your first question, i don't want to talk about any particular conversation. i can tell you i've talked to many in the business community that strongly support our position. most companies aren't inverting. most companies are keeping their headquarters in the united states. most companies are paying taxes in the united states. they don't think it's in their corporate interest to see other companies take advantage of the rules and, you know, shift their profits overseas. so i've heard from a lot of support privately, frankly, from many in the business community. in terms of your second question, i don't want to get ahead of any announcement z. as the president said last night the the press conference, he's not going to do this in drabs. but the treasury is looking at his authority. also we're looking at the full range of authorities we may or may not have. >> jason furman, thank you so much. we appreciate you being here. >> thanks for having me. >> steve rattner. >> what does that mean?

>> grover norquist quote. i'm going to read it to you now. >> you got grover's position? okay. go. >> i'm taking my time because you're right and i'm wrong. >> he's angry. there you go. >> here we go. this is what grover norquist said. instead of focusing on the inversion legislation, barack obama should keep his promise to reform the corporate tax code. he told cnbc. it's the president's fault that he's done nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing in five years to reduce corporate tax rates which he said he was going to do but he hasn't. norquist said the president and democrats are holding tax reform hostage. you have norquist doing what harry reid is doing on immigration. oh, no, no, we want the entire comprehensive thing which of course harry reid knows won't happen on immigration before an

election. so we'll see if the republicans are smart enough to step up and stop $20 billion from going overseas from unpatriotic companies. >> as we said, we're talking about inversions. now we know where grover norquist is. now the question is are the republicans willing to go the right way. >> if they're smart they will. if they want to pass $20 billion bill on americans and small business owners, good luck on the campaign trail. will officials approve the drug's usage for the ebola virus? and this problem is becoming overwhelming in africa. dr. nancy snyderman has the details on what it means for us next. huh... weird... seriously? what? they're magically delicious

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♪ so the front page of "the wall street journal" today talks about the ebola death toll climbing with doctors and nurses at high risk. and it really does -- my gosh. and it's on the back page of the front section of "the wall street journal" as well. this is an epidemic that continues. with us now, nbc news chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. doctor, just keeps getting worse. >> it does keep getting worse. everyone's attention including the cdc's yesterday is because this is now the longest and deadliest ebola outbreak in human history. and we're talking not just about

west africa, but little cases that seem to be popping up all over the globe. and that's why a lot of people are considering this a global threat. in geneva this morning, an emergency meeti ining of the wo health organization as experts determine whether the ebola outbreak now qualifies as a public health emergency. this as the cdc's emergency operation center elevates its response to the highest level. level one. reallocating staffers to focus on containing the outbreak. now spreading throughout west africa where the w.h.o. reports over 900 people have died from the disease. the outbreak started in march in guinea moving to liberia and sierra leone. then jumping to nigeria's capital of lagos. ebola's reach now extends beyond west africa.

in saudi arabia a patient suspected of having ebola died wednesday after traveling back from sierra leone. test results expected within a day or two. the two aid workers infected in liberia are now in the u.s. and a priest who tested positive for ebola was medevaced to spain. the first treated in europe. in atlanta dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol remain in isolation at emory university hospital. nbc news has learned the patients are in rooms on two sides of emory's isolation unit. doctors change into protective gear here and family members are able to visit through the glass. just one day after the ambulance ride seen around the world, kate snow rode in the vehicle used to transport both writebol and brantly with lead paramedic gail stallings. >> did they talk to you? >> they did. they were both talking to us. >> i think we have this image

they were going to be unconscious. >> i think that's the biggest misconception with so much of it. we assume the movie contact in outbreak. and we assume everybody is going to be near zombie people that are going to take over the world. it's not close to that. >> the paramedics say nancy writebol wore several protective layers. and the balance itself was lined with plastic. later removed and incinerated before the entire vehicle was decontaminated twice. for the paramedics, transporting the two patients was just part of the job. >> for us this is what we do. this is what we train for. this is our job. >> all the word out of atlanta is that the patients are stable although they're not out of the woods yet. because we have such sophisticated health care in this country, these two americans have been isolated. if they survive, the disease will die out with them.

and it is not a risk to the general population in this country at all. all eyes really should, you guys, still be on west africa. >> elise? >> i've got a question. as of last week the cdc when i interviewed them, they had only issued a travel alert at that point. they were saying to americans this isn't a big deal. we're going to get it contained. americans are on the ground. and now we have their highest alert. what changed? is it simply it's jumping countries and the death toll is increasing? >> a couple of things. they did issue the travel alert and that stays. the alert yesterday was an internal manpower issue. they're pulling people off other teams. everybody all hands on deck for ebola right now. but what really has people concerned is one american who jumped from liberia to nigeria and died and wasn't quarantined early. the nurse who took care of him has died. the doctor is infected. connecting all those dots in

what is really an international travel hub has become an issue. this has now become squishy. and what the cdc is also facing are all these reports. patient from mt. sinai. a man is saudi arabia. all these little sparks. >> what is the contagion factor? >> if you come into contact with bodily fluids, you have a high chance of getting infected. but casually if you bump up against someone who's not showing symptoms, you're not going to get it. some people said it's not as infectious as influenza. >> when it comes to dr. brantly and writebol, the two missionaries that were doing the work that were transferred to atlanta, talk about the serum that was used on them.

and how you think medically this is a great advance in these two cases and what it means globally. >> as you know, i've been a big proponent of bringing these two americans home for a couple of reasons. one, they're americans and two, we have a lot to learn. what we learn now allows us to respond better for the when it happens, not if whatever happens. so we've learned a lot about how well of the response was. remember on saturday it was department of defense, fbi, state, white house, cdc, fda. you name it. and by the way, the private sector bringing patients in. and then this experimental drug which has ebola antibodies that is given that sort of helps you fight off the virus. there is no cure for ebola. your immune system has to do the work, but this experimental medicine may be just enough to sort of boost someone's immune system so they can fight before.

never used in humans before. >> thank you for being here. we greatly appreciate it. and up next, can rand paul deliver the youth vote for republicans 2016? not with that shirt, but i mean, this may be the time that libertarians help republicans move forward. and then bowe bergdahl back from captivity facing another round of questions from army investigators. we'll have that when we return. ♪

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>> because why? >> i know why i think it is. >> why is that? >> because it's the nation's heart beat. it's where our policies are made. >> let's get serious. it's not the coolest city in the country. >> just stop it. >> even as the only d.c. resident at this table, i think -- >> well i have been a d.c. resident three times. it's a fine place, but it ain't new york. >> there's a level of trendy restaurants coming in, a lot for younger people to do. i can see why they said it, but it still doesn't have much on new york. >> thomas, why is that? why are there trendy restaurants moving in there? >> because there are good, smart people working to bring that city back. >> we should film what we say off the air and then put that online. >> fine. it's the gays, everybody. they've moved in and changed everything. i said it. okay? it's a better community. >> you said it. we were talking -- >> i don't discriminate against the straights. >> no. we love the straights. but we were talking about new york. if you want to understand what's

happened in new york city over the past 40 years, yes, rudy giuliani had a big impact. mayor bloomberg was a big mayor. but it was starting in the '70s. as you say, you call them the gays. i don't know. gay men going to places like chelsea. you can go neighborhood by neighborhood by neighborhood. there needs to be several books written about this. made a big impact. don't tell me to move on. we're making t.j. uncomfortable. >> well, shehe's slow. he just turned 40. >> i think he's repressed. i think you need to come out. >> what? >> what? >> let's move on. >> the straights can keep him. >> you don't want him on your team? >> i like him as a straight. >> here from new york magazine, robert draper is here. we're sorry you had to listen to that.

in sunday's issue, robert writes about how rand paul libertarians will win if the party doesn't shut them down. during the father's two runs for president as a republican in 2008 and 2012, libertarian activists gave him momentum far beyond his popular appeal. packing caucus halls and organizing rallies. but it's all an open question on whether these same activists will get off the sidelines and support his son. whose chance of victory is far greater and if they do it's unclear whether gop establishment figures can put aside their longtime distrust of libertarianism and welcome paul's bid to expand the party's base. and you go on from there. it's one thing i noticed covering iowa, new hampshire. ron paul, this quirky guy who i like and who i've said on the air i voted for him in the primary in 2012 and 2008. but this quirky guy, older guy

just -- he was a rock star when he walked into rooms in iowa and new hampshire. and the question is can his son expand on that? >> i think the answer is yes, he can expand on it. the question is whether or not it's enough to ensure him the nomination. it's an interesting thing because ron spaul a true libertarian. libertarians have been the guys who sit on the sidelines and make fun of both parties. but it's instead come to be a moment you can call a libertarian moment where the public in particular millennial voters seem to be in line with libertarian thinking. the question, though, as i mentioned in the paragraph you read is whether sort of if this is a libertarian moment, what will the republicans and libertarians make of that moment? >> and there's quite a battle. you already are seeing it. i say thankfully because i've always thought of myself conservative. on foreign policy. you're actually seeing people

like myself and i'll say rand paul actually george will at times have been an impact on the republican foreign policy where it's not quite as adventurous as it was during the bush/cheney years. >> that's a consequence of what took place during the bush years. but you're right. the three-legged stool for the republican party has been not just fiscal conservatism but military hawks. and we're seeing less of that now. we're seeing republicans now question whether the military budget should be in conjunction with the rest of the budget. we're seeing dick cheney and john mccain's views be repudiated. we're seeing a tug of war between a candidate like rick perry going after rand paul on his foreign policy. and we'll see in the court of public opinion who wins that fight. >> i tell you what, sam stein, at least among the republicans i know, they're a lot closer to

rand paul than they are to dick cheney. >> absolutely. >> and they always have been. we always have been other than the cold war. so it seems to be going that direction. that doesn't mean he's not stumbling. yesterday there was the dustup about aid to israel and him saying in 2011 he wanted to cut off all foreign aid. a lot of pitfalls for rand paul out there. >> as well as his shirt choice. huge pitfall. part is his authenticity. here is someone who was not a politician before entering politics. and he has these viewpoints that resonate a lot with conservative base. go to any c-pac gathering and there's huge audiences for him. you hit the nail on the head which he's bending a bit with that authenticity as you get closer and closer to the primary. it's been immigration reform. there was mixed messaging on drones, for instance. maybe robert can weigh in on this, but i'm wondering how much

he's going to have to give in. how much he's going to have to bend if he does want to be taken more seriously in that republican primary. >> and that's the tight rope walk, right? on the one hand it's clear that what rand paul is presenting is this kinder version of libertarianism. he's saying i'm not my dad. you know? it's interesting we heard this before with the bushes. now we're hearing it with the pauls. if he does that, will that come at the expense of all these libertarian, particularly young libertarians who turned out in droves and provided the grassroots support for his father's campaign. he's going to need that sort of army. and if he sounds too conservative and mainstream, it will come there. >> quick question for you. they have been making a field day with paul's trip through iowa this week. lots of attacks over his birth control stance, his appearance with steve king. i'm wondering if these attacks can resonate through to 2016. >> i think they can.

i think that in a way rand paul having all these sort of supposed flip-flops pointed out early kind of maybe he gets this out of the way, maybe imdem any fis them. either way one reason they're attacking him is they say eem as a real threat. in this field which is a much better field than the star wars field in 2012, i think he's the one guy who's shown he can take a bite out of some constituencies of the party. >> all right, robert draper, thank you so much. we'll be reading your cover story in "the new york times" magazine. greatly appreciate it. still ahead, army sergeant bowe bergdahl expected for a second round of questions about the circumstances that led to his capture by the taliban. story when we return. ♪

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let me get this straight, thomas. they say there are lots of words in this introduction so they're having you read it instead of me. >> i'm going to read the words outloud now. >> are you really? >> okay. this morning army sergeant bowe bergdahl is expected to answer more questions about his 2009 capture in afghanistan. the first rounds of questions began yesterday and according to the army sergeant's lawyer, it

lasted about nine hours. joining us from ft. sam houston, texas, nbc news correspondent gabe gutierrez. gabe, good morning. fill us in on that nine hours. >> reporter: hey, guys, good morning. sergeant bergdahl's attorney said his client has waived his right to remain silent and cooperating fully, apparently eager to share his side of the story and get this off his chest. this morning sergeant bowe bergdahl is preparing to wrap up his first formal meeting with an army investigator following his release by the taliban. >> i think it was important and useful for him to be able to tell his own story and not have it told for him by anyone else. >> reporter: eugene fidel is bergdahl's attorney. he said his client was read his rights before the interview began at ft. sam houston, but bergdahl answered every question for almost nine hours. >> this was really a conversation. i think much of it was narrative on sergeant bergdahl's part. >> reporter: bergdahl was

swapped more than two months ago for five militants held at guantanamo bay triggering a national controversy. major general kenneth dahl is investigating whether bergdahl abandoned his post before the taliban captured him. among the questions he's asked bergdahl's fellow platoon mates, what events led up to bergdahl leaving? what was his intention? where was he going? >> when a case is this serious involving national policy concerns as well as serious legal concerns during a time of war, it is significant that a major general is involved in an investigation for the government. >> reporter: that interview is expected to resume in just a few minutes. bergdahl's attorney expects it will last just a few hours today. now after that it will be up to general dahl to recommend whether bergdahl should be charged. guys, that recommendation could come later this month. >> so are his parents down there or has he still not had contact with his mom and dad since he got back? >> reporter: that's a really huge question. as far as we know, he has not

spoken to his parents. u.s. officials have previously told nbc news that they do not believe that he has spoken with his parents since returning to american soil. but it is really hard to tell because he is free to leave the base whenever he wants. but as far as we know, he has not spoken with his parents, guys. >> fascinating, he is cooperating fully. thank you so much. we appreciate it, gabe. coming up next, vladimir putin responding angrily to president obama with sanctions of his own. is his reaction hurting his own people? does he care? plus are you ready for elizabeth warren? progressives are rallying around the massachusetts senator with their sights set on the nation's first caucus site, ready for elizabeth. mika is ready. and bill clinton back in action bringing his southern charm to kentucky. will he help alison grimes defeat mitch mcconnell? all that and much more when "morning joe" returns.

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vladimir putin is striking back against the west's economic sanctions. >> putin is expected to ban all agricultural products from the united states. >> but in the end, he is only making life more difficult for the people of russia. >> nothing. >> reporter: day two of this three-day cease-fire. although it's hard to see how such areas will ever be habitable again, even amidst the ruins, there is defiance. >> i think it was justified, i

think it was proportional. the responsibility of this tragedy belongs with hamas. >> was the president teeing up another executive order to punish companies, those that set up overseas to save money on taxes and they say to save jobs. >> we don't want companies who have up until now been playing by the rules suddenly looking over their shoulder and saying we need to do it too. >> if you're an american corporation and you live in america and you work in america and you want to move to switzerland, they can take their families with them and they can take their dogs with them. not that i'm being a populist here. >> some are calling a sore winner speech. he attacked his opponent, brian el sglli ellis. >> you owe my family and this community an apology. >> one of the candidates in kentucky's u.s. senate race received some help today from a former president. >> did you all see that guy come up and talk to me right before allison called me up? he said you're going up to the microphone. he said don't forget to remind

people that she's way prettier than mitch is. hey, welcome back to "morning joe." a lot of stuff going on there. mike barnicle is with us, thomas roberts and somewhere we also have elise viebeck and with us "fortune" magazine's assistant editor leigh gallagher. there's thomas in the background. hey, thomas. thomas is gentrifying the set over there. >> i'm going to zhush this area and i'll be right back. >> we've got abc news political commentator cokie roberts. it's always great to see you. thanks for being with us. >> always happy to be with you, joe. >> cokie, we're going to get to politics. i've got to ask you a question off the top, though. it seems to me if you want any example of how broken washington, d.c., is you have to look no further than this

inversion deal. it's a really fancy way of saying that corporations are going to take their companies, american corporations, they're going to move them overseas, they're going to scam american taxpayers out of $20 billion over the next ten years and stick that bill with working class americans and small business owners. and they can't come to a deal on capitol hill to stop this? >> they can't come to a deal on anything, you know that. but i did hear you earlier saying they can take their rolls royces too. >> did you like that? >> that's good. >> they'd say that in louisiana, wouldn't they? >> they sure would. no, this would not be popular in my home state. but, you know, so in a normal world you could look at this and say, okay, here's a good time to actually do something about the corporate tax rates, right, which are too high. but no. instead of taking a look at the full tax bill or anything else, it's everybody will just yell and scream and nothing will happen, which is where we are on

everything. >> and of course, cokie, you see "the wall street journal," the editorial winding up and this whole talk about the president exceeding his -- if i'm president of the united states and i'm trying to stop walgreens and pfizer and other corporations from taking their businesses overseas and scamming us out of $20 billion of taxes, i'm going to do everything i can do to protect taxpayers from having that bill put on them. i just wonder why house republicans who have a 19% approval rating don't say, hey, wait a second, this might be a good chance to do something. >> this is a good one for us, exactly. walgreens seems to have gotten the message and they're not going to do it so they should get credit for that. the other thing that republicans in the house can't agree on is how much the president should do, because we did have speaker boehner saying the president could fix a lot of things at the border all my himself, and how much they think it's overreach and he should be sued over it.

so, you know, tell us what you want him to do, house republicans. >> republicans, by the way, don't get a 19% approval rating by just ticking off democrats. you get a 19% approval rating -- >> by ticking off republicans. >> by ticking off your own party. by having people in my party going around going what are they doing on capitol hill. you're exactly right, they made total fools of themselves last week. and if you just are against something instead of for something, i don't even think it wins off your elections anymore. >> well, i think they actually did worse than that for themselves, which is by voting to try to rescind the president's order allowing young immigrants to stay in the country, the dreamers, i think they could be hurting the party for decades to come. you know, joe, when i was a kid, the southern republicans were black people. if you looked at a republican

convention on television, the delegations from the south were african-americans because it was the party of lincoln. and then in the civil rights era, even though there were many republicans in the senate particularly who supported the civil rights bills, the message was we don't want you and that's the message that the house republicans sent last week to hispanics. >> and of course we're doing a lot of retrospectives on richard nixon 40 years later after the resignation. it's hard to believe that any republican candidate ever got 33% of the african-american vote. richard nixon did. richard nixon was the last republican that actually could count on a third of african-americans voting for republican candidate. let's move on to 2016, new quinnipiac polls out of new jersey on a potential 2016 matchup, very interesting. head to head hillary clinton gets 50% in jersey and chris christie's home state. he gets 42%. among women a huge gender gap. hillary clinton 54%, chris

christie 34%. views of hillary favorable 60%, unfavorable 38%. credi chris christie, 47% favorable, 47% unfavorable. chris christie, it looks like he's running, leigh. but he can't say what he could have said six months ago which is i'm a guy that can win in the northeast. >> i think it's interesting and shows the strength of hillary, which is different from 2008. >> plus she had such a great book tour. >> book tours -- we live in a book tour economy right now. >> we do. >> there are these tent poles in the year and there are book tours. >> can you imagine how well she'd be doing if she had a good book tour. it was an absolute catastrophe and still she's doing so well. i mean this republican party, again 19% approval rating, is completely lost. there is not a leader out there. >> it's true. and the other thing i think that's very interesting to watch is that big business hasn't

settled on its candidate yet. it's early, but it's a toss-up. and so much of that will depend on who emerges from the republican party. it's really -- you know, there's a chance that they could go for hillary. >> elise, what do you hear on capitol hill? >> about hillary? >> no, any republican. is there any republican that comes to the speaker and goes oh, my gosh, i am so excited about fill in the blank running for congress. >> no. >> i mean running for president. >> no. there isn't much of a consensus. everyone has their dog in the fight at this point, but usually their lists are five people long. i might like chris christie, i might like jeb bush, i might like paul ryan if he would get in. nobody really has a candidate that they're excited enough about to say this is the one and that's where democrats have the strength because hillary seems inevitable. the more she does, the more the public gets on board. >> mike, i've never seen anything like this. i've never seen the republican party this void of leadership, of a standard bearer. >> i'm going to ask steve rattner something that i pick up

continually about something i pick up continually that involves both republicans and democrats. the question is, are you worried that nobody is going to vote in 2016? >> who's excited? >> i mean the turn-off on politics is worse and higher than i've ever seen it before. >> steve would be excited to vote for whoever was running against elizabeth warren, which is the next story, but it really is. it is negative motivation. nobody is excited. >> sure, but why would you be when you see what's going on in washington, you see what's going on on capitol hill and government is completely dysfunctional. you see the fact people are still hurting from the economy and they don't feel that the economic recovery has gotten to them and you go back to the poll that you guys had on a couple days ago and see where the country is at. why would they? now, 2016 is a ways away, and i do think if hillary is the democratic nominee, she is a polarizing figure but an exciting figure and ener jiegz figure to a lot of people. we'll see what the republican do so. >> well, there is a push under

way in iowa by enlisting elizabeth warren to run for president. the super pac is raising funds in des moines. the group is forming a finance committee and looking to generate excitement for the first in the nation caucus. senator warren has said she's not running for president. cokie, a lot of times that doesn't mean anything but you get the sense as long as hillary is in there, elizabeth warren isn't thinking about it. >> elizabeth warren would be a disaster for the democratic party. it would be going back to howard dean or michael dukakis. steve is right, that hillary clinton could create some excitement. there's a whole group of people who turned off by her, but there are a whole group of people who are really excited by her. and the big advantage she has just demographically is that she does much, much better among white women than most democratic candidates do. and that could be a tremendous boost for her going into 2016.

>> cokie, did you see bill clinton in kentucky yesterday? >> yeah, it was great. 37%, right? he didn't remember the number, right? >> you know, cokie, those clintons, they don't keep score. but -- >> is it possible that he remembers what she won by in kentucky. >> if you ask him what she did in pennsylvania, he'll remember she won by nine and a half points. here's bill clinton yesterday campaigning, looking very comfortable campaigning for allison lundergan grimes. >> i love kentucky. you've been -- you've been -- you've been good to me. you voted for me twice. and you've been good to hillary, and i appreciate that.

you know i don't pay too close attention, but as i remember, she won the primary election here by 37 points, and i appreciate that. >> mitch mcconnell, he loves to try to label anyone who dares to oppose him. for the past year he's tried to label me every which way but the right way. and here today i'll set the record straight. i'm not an empty dress, i'm not a rubber stamp, and i am not a cheerleader. one label that i will wear proudly and i know you will join me, i am a clinton democrat. >> you know, cokie, we've been sitting around trying to figure out how 2014 is going to go. everybody always looks back to the last off-year election or history. i can't figure it out, this race is too close to call. i will say it is an ominous sign for my party that i cannot

predict how we're going to do in louisiana, arkansas, kentucky and georgia that there is not a political pro in washington, d.c., that would say any of those states are a lockdown for republicans. >> no, they're not locked down. arkansas is looking better for republicans than it has been. cotton has been up in every poll recently. but pryor is a good candidate. you know what it could come down to, joe, and this will be really awful if it does, the fate of who controls the senate could be decided in louisiana in december. >> oh, dear lord. >> and when that happens, you are talking about so much money coming in and so much hatred coming in that that could really, really be rough. >> in december, that sounds like an edwin edwards/david duke runoff. >> that's right, what would happen is nobody gets a majority in november and so the race goes

to -- and that happened with mary landrieu before. now, i've heard you say before, i remember one time when i was on with you, that in the end mary pulls it out and in the end mitch pulls it out and i think that's probably true. but we're not there yet by any means. >> so what do the polls look like with mary down in louisiana? >> well, she's ahead, but the republicans haven't chosen their candidate yet. but she's at the moment ahead. but it's going to be a rough, rough race. >> they haven't chosen their candidate yet? >> no, because we don't -- it's an open -- in our state, everybody runs at the same time and that's on election day. and then the top two run off after election day. >> so, cokie, you know politics better than anybody and have been around politics better than anybody. >> because i'm old, is that what you're saying. >> no, no, no. because of your parents and -- i mean we had a debate a couple of hours ago about justin ammish --

>> oh, my goodness, was that the most ungracious thing you have ever seen in your life? who is his mother? >> who is his mother? was he raised in a barn? >> yeah! >> come on! >> that was just appalling. i mean even if you hate the guy, you get up and say my worthy opponent. >> well, that's what we were saying. we had sam stein and elise, we had two millennials saying at least he's telling the truth. >> oh, please! >> you don't do that in politics. >> the truth is oversold. >> justin amash, the winner. >> i can take anything this guy has been called and i can find nastier things said about me. even after those nasty things are said about me, you go, you shake -- i always said, you know, i had a really ugly race my first race. they said some awful things about me. the first night i went over to

my opponent and said i shouldn't have won this. i didn't deserve to win this. you're so much smarter than me and i'm not going to win without your help in november. i'm just not smart enough to do it. this is not hard! >> my father used to always say no permanent friends, no permanent enemies. you never want to be in that position. and yesterday i was moderating the discussion between michelle obama and laura bush that was fabulous at the african summit. and there they were agreeing with each other and talking about things that were really important and now president bush and president clinton are doing that on a whole variety of things. and these people all run against each other and they all say things that, you know, you might come to regret later or feel at the time is absolutely essential to say and believe, but then you need to be able to come back together. >> exactly. i was at a charity event with

bill clinton last year and he put it best. he said if you're a good politician, you have to have a short memory. and if you want to be a great politician, you have to have no memory. it's just like -- >> except for percentages. >> except for 37%. >> i'm not sure bill clinton has a short memory. >> i will tell you this, as a president dealing with congress, that man had the shortest memory. you could impeach him in the morning and he would invite you golfing in the afternoon because bill clinton, i always knew, no permanent friends, no permanent enemies. there was always the next vote tomorrow and you didn't know who was going to help you win it. let's take a look at the lack of graciousness shown by justin amash. >> to brian ellis, you owe my family and this community an apology. for your disgusting, despicable

smear campaign. you had the audacity to try to call me today, after running a campaign that was called the nastiest in the country. i want to say to lobbyist hookstra, you are a disgrace and i'm glad we could hand you one more loss before you faded to total obscurity and irrelevance. >> i think he replaced pete, didn't he? i think i met justin, i think i like him too. you're in the business of liking people, like getting along, figuring out to bridge the gap. but you support that. >> let me defend myself. is it what i would do as a candidate?

no. is it polite or mature? probably not. but with the millennial audience, adds soon as you start using those hackneyed political phrases, people tune you out and people are playing this clip all over the place. >> sometimes it's not bad to be tuned out. there are a lot of times in the history of "morning joe" i wish i had been tuned out. >> he was one of the biggest libertarians in the house, still is. he has carved his political career out of playing to a certain base that wants him to be as tough as possible. this is within his political persona. this is not a change for justin amash at all. >> don't you think that character and graciousness -- i mean it's about character and who you are as a person. >> he is going to get as much support after this as he would otherwise. i believe that. >> that may be fine for him, but it's not good for america. >> it's not good for america, you're right. we're making a limited point here. we're making a limited point. >> we care about america, right? >> we love america.

we're not like harold ford where we want people to be traitors -- i'm joking. what did you say about harold? >> harold is my friend. >> millennials love america too but also like people to be honest and sometimes it's nice to hear people say what they really think. >> i'm a reporter, hey, guys, be nice. >> exactly, be nice to her. cokie, i guess we'll continue this debate later. i will tell you, though, one of the things that always bothers me is when people come up to me and say how can you be nice to such and such. it's like because what makes you think that working in congress is any different than working in your office. and if you like went over to the next cubicle and screamed and yelled and insulted everybody in the cubicle with cubicles all around you, nothing would ever get done. my first day i went and met ron dellems because i thought he was a lefty and a traitor and a this

and a that. you know what i found out after five minutes? he was a lovely, wonderful man and we both laughed at how crazy we thought each other's politics were and we became friends. >> there's never an excuse for rudeness. there's never an excuse for rudeness. >> you got that, elise? >> i got that. >> i think cokie was talking to me. i'll work on it. thank you, cokie. cokie and elise stay with us. michelle obama says women are smarter than men and who am i to disagree. what she says women need to do with their superior intellect. plus hillary clinton takes her message to the pages of "glamour" magazine. editor in chief cindi leive joins us with their exclusive interview with the secretary of state. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. (vo) get ready! fancy feast broths. they're irresistabowl... completely unbelievabowl...

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whether we like it or not, we are role models, and as women we have the young girls in our worlds, in our countries, they're looking to us. they're looking to us for how we should be, how we should think, how to use our voices, and as a result we have a responsibility to show them the way. we can't waste the spotlight. it is temporary and life is short and change is needed and women are smarter than men. >> why did she have to even say that? we all know that. i'm surrounded here. what else do you expect me to say, guys? that was first lady michelle obama speaking with cokie roberts at a forum yesterday for

spouses of u.s. and african leaders here with us. cindi leive, who interviewed another first lady, hillary clinton, in an upcoming issue was commenting on -- i absolutely love the splash of color. >> i'm glad. >> isn't that beautiful? that's just a beautiful-looking magazine. what a great picture there, though. you open it up and there's hillary clinton. what did you learn from the interview with hillary? >> well, i learned, first of all, that if you're reading between the lines, if you look at the message of her book, it is essentially that she knows, first of all, more about foreign policy than almost anybody who has contemplated a presidential run in the last two decades. she also is very committed to this issue of women and girls. i have to say it is something that women of both political parties really respond to about her. if she can find a way to continue that message going forward, it will be really important. >> you know, cokie roberts, by the way, a great forum yesterday. but i always thought the quote

joe klein told us, he asked general petraeus in 2005, 2006, who knows the most about iraq. who knows the most, what senator and petraeus' response was you mean other than hillary clinton? she is extraordinarily well versed. >> well, she does her homework. she's a good wellesley woman. i remember when she was first running for the senate in new york going around with her for a day and she knew every pothole in the state. it is absolutely true that she does that. but that issue of women and girls is very important and that is what both michelle obama and laura bush, who was the other person on the panel, were talking about yesterday because around the world, we know that it really does change the fate of a nation if girls are educated, stay in school, marry later, have fewer children, get health care, contribute to the gdp, all of those things. and so that was the message they were getting across to the african first ladies, among

whom, by the way, there they were all bedecked in their wonderful native dress and then sitting right in the middle of them was george bush as the only man there and he was a very didn't sport about all of that. but i think that the -- but the message is a serious message and it is one that people do relate to. >> cindi, your reader is the young woman demographic. what is she thinking now? i mean the younger vote last time around was divided. you could go for hope and change or go for making history with a woman president. where are they now and how much does -- do these issues of foreign policy and women and girls around the world matter to them? >> right now they're in a very different place than they were in 2008. then as you say older women were more inclined toward hillary clinton, younger women were more inclined toward barack obama. now if you look at the polling, women are fairly strongly, at this moment, which is not in the middle of a presidential race yet and that's a key distinction, they are strongly for hillary. there was a poll that got a lot

of attention last week, if there were a clinton/romney matchup right now, hillary clinton would beat romney but it's coming completely from women. from men, those two candidates were neck in neck. it was women who were giving hillary clinton the edge. but, and this is a big but, we are not yet in the middle of a campaign. will she be able to take this good will that women have toward her into a campaign. that will be the goal. >> and another question is will the young people come out, because it's a critical demographic. it's a demographic where girls are outperforming boys and women are graduating from college in greater numbers than men so there's a potential strong market there. >> and will she speak to them on economic issues because that is for so many young people what it will come down to more than foreign policy issues. >> looking at this poll quote it says you don't have to be perfect. most men never think like that. what that reminded me of is this debate we see going on talking about work/life balance, it

seems hillary is a unique position to speak to those issues. >> which is exactly why we wanted to talk to her. she is the ultimate working woman, no matter whether you agree with her politics or not. one thing that i thought was fascinating is she says she sees young women holding back, not asking for advice, not pushing themselves because they think they have to be perfect on the job from day one. she very boldly said actually you can just be good enough. that is how men think and that is how a woman should think too and then you learn on the job. it's a very sort of sheryl sandberg message. i believe it's one she genuinely believes. >> or a mika message. >> exactly. it is a mika brzezinski message. sheryl sandberg lifted from her. >> mika is yelling from maine. >> i'm yelling for her. cokie. >> well, anybody who's been in the workplace for more than, you know, 15 minutes knows that you're not perfect when you come into the workplace.

but i think this question of family/work balance is really a huge one because it has everything to do with our competitiveness. as you just heard, more women graduate from college. two-thirds of our graduate school graduates are female. and when you then -- they come into the workplace and then find that it's hostile to them because they have got other things they have to worry about, whether it's children or elderly parents or a spouse or a friend or something in the community, that is just ridiculous. and it drives them away, it makes them less productive. we can't afford that as a country. and so we have to figure this out a whole lot better, and a candidate who speaks to that will be speaking to a huge group in the population. >> all right, cokie, thank you so much. by the way, cindi, i understand there's a picture in here, i had no idea. a little dust-up about a

picture. >> olivia wilde was photographed with her 5-month-old son, otis, and she breast fed during the shoot and our photographer captured an absolutely beautiful image of it. and women are responding very positively. men too, i might say, but for different reasons. >> okay. look for the new issue of "glamour" magazine. cindi leive, thank you for being with us. cokie, great having you today. >> nice to be with you. coming up next, we are going to turn from talk of the clintons to ken star. the former investigator joins us next but not to talk about hillary clinton. we're talking about something mike barnicle and i have been talking about for some time regarding college sports. we shall return.

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people get confused. they see an extreme level of what appears to be all of the trappings of professional sport and they come to the conclusion that it can't possibly be amateur sports anymore. well, it certainly can be. >> i am a firm believer that an employee should get paid for his work, and 100% i see student athletes as employees. hiding from it is just cowardly. >> that was a clip from the 2013 documentary "schooled" about

whether or not college athletes should be financially compensated. a key vote is today by the ncaa and could open up the door for big changes for student athletes. with us now we've got baylor university president and chancellor, judge ken starr and big 12 commissioner bob bowlsby. bar bob, thanks for being with us. ken, always good to see you. how is the vote going to go down today? >> i think it will pass. a lot of work has been done and i think the presidents on the board of directors will pass it very substantially. >> what's it going to mean for a 19-year-old kid that plays sports? >> i think it's going to mean additional benefits for student athletes. each institution has what's called an actual cost of attendance and the scholarship has typically been defined as room, board, books, tuition and fees. this will allow us to provide additional expense payments up to the actual cost of attendance. it varies from institution to institution, but it's certainly going to ensure that student athletes have a few more dollars

in their pocket. >> what's the vote going to mean for parents of student athletes? in many, many cases you've got parents -- families from meager means, the kid is a spectacular athle athlete, goes to stanford, notre dame or whatever and the parent can't afford to go t a football game. what does it mean to them? >> we want to be attentive first and foremost to the student athlete. for families, especially folks from modest means, so many times these are first generation college kids, so it's just a great experience all the way around. so providing for the full cost of attendance means that the student can go home and have those expenses paid for. so it's a really step forward. it's a real pro family move. >> you know, leigh, the numbers are staggering. the university of alabama made $143 million last year. the university of texas made even more. what do they make, they made $165 million. i mean this seems to make sense

that these kids, these 19, 20-year-old kids that bring so much money into the universities are at least able to get their mom and dad to come to football games. >> it is, to quote mika, a little bit of knowing your value, isn't it? but i guess my question is does this -- this is such a different way of doing business in college sports. is there a risk of, for example, drawing all the resources from other sports into the trophy sports, into football and basketball where this is going to be an issue, and also does it set up a sort of survival of the fittest among colleges. those with the bigger budgets, i mean it then becomes an uneven playing field. >> the rich get richer. >> well, there is that potential. i think we have to be careful what we do with the new prerogatives that we're going to be having because there is that potential. there is the potential for separation. but it's about improving the lot in life for student athletes. i also should interject if we go

down the path of establishing an employee-employer relationship for student athletes, we will have forever lost our way. this is about higher education. and the football and basketball kids, they work their tails off but they don't work any harder than the wrestlers and the track athletes and the swimmers and others. >> so everybody wins in this? >> absolutely. at baylor we have 19 points but there are only two that are revenue sports, football and men's basketball. so we want to always be conscious and title ix, a very important federal law, tells us we have to be conscious, not just as a moral matter but a legal matter of the equities in the circumstances. so i think what is going to, i think, happen is enabling us to first and foremost take better care of our student athletes. that is top. but also just help the programs overall because this is a very important fact that i think is sometimes lost in the

conversation. only 23 of the division i programs make a profit, and those that do, like the university the texas in the big 12, pour millions of dollars into the academic side from the sports side. i would love to see that at baylor university. that's a day we long for. so we want to continue to improve the quality of the programs but we also want to first and foremost pay attention to our student athletes. are we doing everything, including safety, health and nutrition. >> what is the level of danger inherent in putting these packages together? would it be possible at some point for the kids, spectacular athlete, i can get a better package by going to alabama than i can from going to iowa. i can get more money. >> that's exactly right. this is going to be difficult in some ways for coaches because the costs of attendance vary from institution to institution. and i think that the range of those will likely shrink over

time, but there are some differences. it's going to be a very different environment. but we are just now developing the agenda that will guide us over the coming six months. i think the convention in january will be where we actually enact a lot of these changes. first among them will be additional benefits for student athletes and we'll move on from there. but a lot of this can be implemented in the fall of 2015. we're not going to be able to take it and swallow it all in one bite. there's going to be a number of steps in this process. but as judge starr said, it's all about trying to start the process with the student athletes. we have to be mindful of the responsibility and the authority we have, because this is a long traditioned arrangement in higher education. it's very unique in the world. it's always interesting that the world's athletes come to the united states to train and get educated. and in my role as a usoc board

member, we talk often about the fact that you see the very people we're competing against at the international level were often trained on our own campuses. >> exactly. thank you for being with us, commissioner. greatly appreciate it. now, if you could be called judge or chancellor, what would you -- i was about to say judge starr, but chancellor sounds pretty good too. >> i think he's entitled to whatever title -- >> i think commissioner sounds pretty good. >> that makes me very uncomfortable. >> mr. commissioner, mr. chancellor, thank you so much for being with us, guys. >> and other names. >> we all have. coming up next, troops on the border in eastern ukraine. will vladimir putin respond to western sanctions. what impact is it going to have on the global markets? we're talking about that next in "business before the bell." we'll be right back.

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russia is retaliating after the latest round of sanctions against moscow. president putin announced a ban on agricultural foods from the u.s. and european union. chuck hagel remains concerned about a possible invasion of ukraine. leigh, it seems like putin would be cutting off his nose to spite his face if he did that. a couple of days ago the markets started to sort of shake because of fears of this. it's not like it would help him economically at home. >> no, it wouldn't. the russia economy is already at an incredibly weak point. >> it's going to suffer a recession this year because of this. >> and he is emboldened. i think when people's salaries and everyday lives start being affected, i think that's might when we see a turn there. this latest round of sanctions, it started to hurt.

we're hitting him where it hurts in the form of delivering technology to help russia tap its deep sea oil wells. i mean that's what we can do. i mean there's -- as we all know, we're not as powerful in europe with our leverage right now as europe, but this is what we can do and it's hurting. that's why we're seeing him react and try to cut off imports and cut off, you know, certain things from the u.s. i mean he's reacting -- >> he doesn't get our meat, he doesn't get our technology that allows him to drill. >> and the oligarchs get can't their money. >> it is the oligarchs at the end of the day that will have impact on this guy. >> absolutely. >> we shall see what happens. coming up next, something much more important. nbc's lester holt swings by "the tonight show" to jam with the roots. >> lester. >> lester, go! we shall return on "morning joe. " ♪ who's more excited about back to school savings at staples? the ladies? these guys? or these guys?

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progressive. ♪ >> lester, i love ya. i watch you on "weekend today," i watch you on "dateline" and i know that you played the bass so we wanted you to sit in with the roots. you're fantastic. thank you for doing this. >> i am just so psyched to be here with these guys. i know brian williams had the

whole rap thing sewn up with you so i needed a place. >> you have a place. brian, you're in trouble. you'd better watch yourself, buddy. lester is in the house right here, playing some licks like that. >> isn't that great? lester is really good on the bass. >> he really is. >> he takes it very seriously, as we saw when he's playing, but smiling and have a good time. have you ever seen him as he bikes to work in his bike shorts? >> no. how does he look? >> like lester holt in bike shorts. i highly recommend it. >> okay, whatever. so anyway, he -- >> i mean he's like in a pull-on bike outfit like a racer dude on a bike. >> okay. >> you've got to look for him. if you see him flash by, it's lester holt. >> jimmy, by the way, just kicking everybody. >> huge. >> he's amazing. we shall return, kids. we'll be right back.

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to brian ellis, you owe my family and this community an apology. for your disgusting, despicable smear campaign. you had the audacity to try to call me today after running a campaign that was called the nastiest in the country. >> the audacity to try to pick

up a telephone and call me. hey, kids, it's time to talk about what we learned today. elise, what did you learn? >> i learned that i can get a lot of flak on "morning joe" for having anything nice to say about that tirade. >> exactly. and you're his new communications manager, is that right? mike barnicle, what did you learn? >> justin just gave a whole new meaning to the phrase a sore winner. >> thomas, what did you learn? >> brian sullivan takes one helluva picture when danica patrick is there. this, i did that while holding a fan. i am available for weddings and bar mitzvahs. >> leigh, what did you learn? >> things in college sports could be about to change in a big way. i think this vote is huge in terms of economics of college sports. >> and i found harold ford was part of the morgan stanley empire. that's pretty good. oh, mike, that's horrible. >> i'm just crushed and depressed about this. >> and i have learned a new diet

plan, a good way to lose weight by not being able to keep my breakfast down. if it's way too early, it's "morning joe." right now we've got "the daily rundown" with kristen welker. see you tomorrow, guys. solemn movement. this morning as the remains of two-star general harold greene are coming home to the u.s., we'll go live to dover air force base in delaware as family, friends and the military pay their respects. meantime, what will happen as the final minutes of a 72-hour cease-fire tick down in the middle east? we'll go live to tel aviv and we'll talk to white house deputy national security adviser ben rhodes. plus, it's an unusual thursday primary day in tennessee, as lamar alexander tries to hold on to his senate seat and hawaii braces for twin hurricanes landing just as their primary is set for saturday. and a very good morning from washington.