>> somebody call the situation room, because things are about to get hot. i love you so much, i obamacare about you more than you even know. that's right, obama cares. but, michelle, i've made a lot of great decisions as president. the best decision i ever made was choosing you. >> i'm kate snow. "mtp daily" starts right now. if it's friday, there's not much love heading into valentine's day weekend. another contentious day on the trail. you can feel the pressure building. the whole field seems to know it and the opposition is desperate to define the opponents. and nobody knows this better than marco rubio. this is "mtp daily" and it starts right now.

good evening. boy, it's a happy friday. a three-day weekend for some people, a two-day weekend would be welcome to some people. a one-day weekend would be welcome to those of us here at msnbc. welcome to "mtp daily." can you believe the new hampshire primary was just three days ago? have you gotten your heads around who won on both sides and what it means, folks? this thing is just getting started. we're going to dig into how the clinton team is now trying to make their race a referendum on bernie sanders. that will be in a few minutes. and we'll take a closer look at the issue jeb bush cares the most about, but can't talk about on the campaign trail -- education. all of that is coming up in our latest chapter in our "making of a candidate" series. but let's start with tonight's take on the republican race and how one small group of republican voters in south carolina tells us so much about where this fight is headed. with two states down and a long race ahead, republicans are

squarely focused on the first in the south primary. well, that's everyone except, of course, donald trump. the billionaire businessman has always been the exception to the rule in this race. when everybody's in one state, he goes to another. so while the rest of the gop field has been flocking to south carolina to prepare for tomorrow's debate, trump's already been else, since a wednesday rally. last night, trump was in a march 1st state, louisiana, and wowed that crowd. tonight, he's going a march 15th state, tampa, florida. trump is obviously confident about where things stand for him in south carolina. but a focus group led by pollster peter hart at the reilly institute at fuhrman university found that south carolina republican voters are still a bit skeptical. listen to this. >> okay, donald trump? going to go right around the room. >> leader. >> flashy. >> alpha dog. >> rich. >> dogmatic. >> narcissistic. >> inspirational. >> braggadocio.

>> divisive. >> greedy. >> does anybody believe that donald trump plays to our better angels? nobody. i want you to write down at the bottom of your sheet here who's going to win the south carolina primary in the republican side. >> trump. >> trump. >> trump. >> trump. >> trump. >> trump. >> i would like to say trump, but i think ted cruz is going to do it. >> trump. >> rubio. >> trump. >> so, you heard it. trump is not the perfect choice for those republicans, but for the most part, they do believe he is a winning choice. and that may be the real victory for trump here. love him or hate him, his win is a foregone conclusion. so these folks can conceivably lend him their support when it comes to beating the democratic nominee. in fact, listen to some advice they had for trump if he, indeed, is the nominee. >> be more empathetic. >> get some good handlers and listen to them. >> know what you're getting into and be serious about it.

>> take criticism in a positive way. >> i would never let him know where the executive order pen is. >> meanwhile, texas senator ted cruz, the iowa caucus winner, was seen a bit as a divisive figure among this group of south carolina republicans. >> divisive. >> opportunist. >> family, pro. >> new face. >> i don't want to be in a foxhole with him. >> condescending, self-righteousness. >> he's brilliant. >> so he's brilliant and at the thanksgiving table, you want him near you or not? >> no, not really. >> a lot of not so flattering descriptions there for him. but the key difference when compared to trump is that it lacks that presumption of victory in what is effectually a vote of confidence. most of the candidates caught some criticism from the republican focus group, except for one man, ohio governor john

kasich. >> john kasich? >> optimistic. >> john kasich? >> good businessman. >> second choice. >> john kasich? >> still learning about him. >> john kasich? >> good governor. >> john kasich? >> i'd go for him. >> so, he's got an opportunity. what voters don't know about kasich, they're apparently curious to find out. but will there be enough time with just eight days to go before the primary? peter alexander got kasich's reaction to this focus group today, actually. >> how do you overcome those challenges that people are still learning about you with only eight days to south carolina. >> you know, it's funny, lincoln always said to people, just let me be your second choice. i'm glad i'm the second choice now. you know, a couple of weeks ago, they wouldn't have even known how to pronounce my name. >> word association for you, john kasich? >> fun. >> let's dissect these thoughts from the focus group. joined now by nbc editor, kerry dan, who's been focusing on

this. and he's done a ton of focus groups himself over the years. he was with bobby jindal when jindal was running for president. kerry, let me start with you. you were covering this. describe this group of voters. look, this is qualitative research, not quantitative. did they strike you as a broad cross-section of the republican electorate down there? >> you certainly had the influence of the evangelical community and faith, a lot of people even in their introductions talked about family values being important to them, morals being important to them. one woman's husband was a pastor. another worked at a ministry. so there was certainly a big influence of that. you kind of had a mix of both social conservatives and more traditional, more mainstream republicans. there were a couple of jeb bush fans in this group. only two that were committed donald trump supporters. those who were not donald trump supporters expressed almost alarm at his rise. they said that they would be concerned if he was to join -- to be the president.

as for what their reaction would be if he was the commander in chief, they said things like, oh, no, and i hope it's only one term. >> but they all said they would support him against hillary clinton. >> exactly, they all said that they would support him against hillary clinton. all but two said they thought he was going to win in the south carolina primary. and they also said, a majority said they thought that he had had a net positive effect on the republican race, because of bringing in disaffected voters. >> to me the most important thing is they're accepting him as someone they can vote for as a nominee even if they're not happy about it. brad, the cruz stuff. and i remember you telling me that cruz had more problems than maybe they understood. you saw this in iowa. >> we did. >> quickly, he hasn't made a great first impression with some voters. >> the most striking thing about this focus group in south carolina is ted cruz's moment is absent. usually the iowa winner, someone with a strong backing from the evangelical community, usually that candidate rolls into south carolina with a -- >> huckabee. >> and cruz clearly has a

problem in iowa. and the hesitation is that they doubted whether he was authentic. you saw it there, some people said i think he's shady, i think he's self-righteous. i think that's the obstacle he has to overcome. cruz has to prove that this is the real person, ted cruz, and this is not an act. >> let me play an excerpt, by the way, on marco rubio, and get you guys to react on the other side. >> i voted for a guy who was a tea party hero on the campaign trail and then he went to d.c. and played patty cake with chuck schumer and cut a deal on amnesty. >> does that make me angry? >> it makes me feel dumb for trusting him. >> maybe you should vote for more than just a pretty face next time. >> marco rubio? >> rising star. >> marco rubio? >> fresh face. >> marco rubio? >> strong politician. >> marco rubio? >> just don't know. >> marco rubio? >> flip-flopper. >> marco rubio? >> immigration. >> marco rubio? >> finish your term as senator first.

>> that seems to sum up the rubio challenge. a lot of positive in there, but some negative that's enough to hold him back. >> and these voters were not unfamiliar, by the way, with the saturday night debate debacle for marco rubio. one voter actually joked about it and said, my advice for marco rubio is to remove the string on his back so that people will stop pulling it and making him say the same thing over and over again. lots of people in the room laughed. they were aware of that issue, but still very generally positive about him. they had questions about his experience, but some of these voters seem very pragmatic about speaking about his background saying, not only is he a fresh face, he can bring hispanics into the party. that's something you didn't hear quite as much in iowa, but more from these voters. . >> so rubio is not dead? >> he has the most potential to win in november and the most room for growth. >> even after the bad debate? >> he has more appeal to a wider group of republicans than any candidate. what he has to do in south carolina, and in the states that immediately follow, is get in the ring with donald trump. this race is about donald trump on our side. and you have to prove that you

can beat donald trump and you're big enough to be the nominee -- >> the only person taking him on is jeb. >> it's time for everybody -- you know, you can't take baby steps. we're at the point of this race, we've had a couple of states vote. no more baby steps and try to incrementally step up the ladder. you have to get in the ring with mohammad ali. >> we played a little bit of that ad already. i want to get into that ad controversy. that was a cruz hit on rubio. thought it was a pretty clever attempt, something that might cut through the clutter. but they had to pull the ad, because one of the actresses had appeared in what some might describe as soft-core pornography. >> i haven't seen it. >> fair enough. >> i believe we have some candidate reaction to all of this. let's take a listen. >> the bottom line is, they were actors. and i think it's part of a bigger problem that ted has. and that is, he tries to act like the only consistent conservative in this race. it's just not true. he's a very calculated political

operative. >> only a washington politician would claim that it is somehow calculated. look, this whole ad is about the fact that marco rubio looked in the eyes of the men and women in florida and promised them, i will lead the fight against amnesty. he made the same promises i did. we both said the same thing. he made them in florida, i made them in texas. the difference is, when marco went to washington, he broke his word. >> look, we'll litigate the issue in a second here, the ad itself, did he overreact in pulling it? >> i think the question is not whether there are actresses in ted cruz's ads, it's whether ted cruz is an actor. i think that's the question that's hanging out there. >> that's what rubio wanted to know. >> and i think the issue here for cruz has now extended the story by another day. now more people are going to want to go check out the ad, and all of a sudden we'll -- >> but the ad is not great for rubio. because immigration is still not a good primary issue for marco rubio. >> but it's also widely known. this is nothing -- there's no new information in that ad regarding marco rubio. and i think more importantly, it's a stumble for cruz at a

time when he can least expect it. he has to win in south carolina, or else donald trump and going to roll through march 1st. >> all right. we will leave it there. brad todd and kerry dan, thank you both. coming up, flipping the script. how the clinton campaign is working to put the spotlight all on sanders. is this now a referendum on bernie sanders? and right now, marco rubio is about to hold a rally in greenville, south carolina, ahead of tomorrow night's republican debate. can he prove to ted cruz and voters that he is more than just that pretty face. stay tuned. every day you read headlines about businesses being hacked and intellectual property being stolen. that is cyber-crime and it affects each and every one of us. microsoft created the digital crimes unit to fight cyber-crime. we use the microsoft cloud to visualize information so we can track down the criminals. when it comes to the cloud, trust and security are paramount. we're building what we learn back into the cloud to make people and organizations safer.

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this is one of the areas i've disagreed with senator sanders on, who has called for iranian troops, trying to end the civil war in syria, which i think would be a grave mistake. >> for a start, the secretary and i disagree, and i think the president does not agree with her, in terms of the concept of a no-fly zone in syria. >> syria's strategy was one of the many points that secretary clinton and senator sanders

sparred over last night. just before the debate got started, news broke that the u.s., russia, and more than a dozen other countries agreed to a tempory cease-fire in syria. the deal is supposed to halt fighting within one week, to allow humanitarian aid into the war-torn country. but the truce doesn't apply to bombing of terror groups like isis, which is who russia claims they're targeting in their air strikes. but the u.s. believes russia is also bombing syrian rebel forces in an effort to prop up the assad regime. and even secretary of state john kerry called this truce, quote, ambitious, today. code for, maybe it isn't as good as it sounds. but at the debate last night, clinton said the russians won't agree to an immediate cease-fire, because they're buying time to destroy the remaining vern opposition forces. coming up next on "mtp daily," we've got much more on the growing tension in the fight for the democratic nomination. is it now all about bernie sanders? we'll be right back. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to a rheumatologist

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the fight for the democratic nomination is rapidly changed in the past several weeks. frankly, several days, and it's now clear that the clinton campaign would like to at least temporarily turn the focus and perhaps make in a bit of a referendum for a few weeks on bernie sanders. and it was nowhere at more evident than last night's debate when clinton framed her answers not to respond about her own ideas, but to talk about sanders' instead. >> you need to level with people about what they will have at the end of the process. the numbers don't add up. we both want to get more revenue in. i have yet to see a proposal that you're describing. >> senator sanders' voted in 1998 on what i think is fair to call a regime change resolution with respect to iraq. well, i know journalists have asked who you do listen to on foreign policy, and we have yet to know who that is. >> well, it ain't henry kissinger, that's for sure. >> that's fine, that's fine.

today senator sanders said that president obama failed the presidential leadership test. and this is not the first time that he has criticized president obama. in the past, he's called him weak, he's called him a disappointment. i am not a single-issue candidate and i do not believe we live in a single-issue country. >> it might be the campaign's best path to victory right now to ensure that sanders gets vetted just as heavily as clinton has been over the years, but clinton's debate last night was a lot built around another strategy altogether, aligning herself with president obama as much as possible. >> i am a staunch supporter of president obama's principle accomplishment. president obama has set a great example. president obama -- president obama, president obama, president obama, the obama administration, like president obama had. so what we have tried to do and what president obama succeeded in doing. >> you can get our point there. and today the chair of the congressional black caucus pac, which backed clinton yesterday, hit sanders for his critiques of

president obama. george meeks said, i condemn and strongly disagree with recent criticisms from senator sanders that call into question president obama's leadership ability and insinuating that he has been, quote, weak on progressive issues. he went on. senator sanders' disparaging comments towards the president are misplaced, misguided, and do not give credit where credit is due. that statement came out shortly before the clinton campaign held yet another conference call on her opponent. this time hitting sanders for what the clinton campaign says is a clear and evident commander in chief gap. here's what virginia senator tim kaine also said on that call. >> bernie works on the issues that interest him, but foreign policy and diplomacy and national security are not issues that interest him. i just think somebody who has never really shown much of an interest in these topics is an incredibly risky bet. >> joining me now is our correspondent on the sanders' campaign, kasie hunt.

she's in minneapolis, where sanders is set to hold a forum on race and economy in the next hour. kasie, it was quite a change. we've seen clinton go after sanders before, but this seems to be almost a concerts effort to say, okay, fine, let's make this a campaign a referendum on sanders for the next few weeks. >> it seems like they kind of woke up, chuck, in a lot of ways. and i think the sanders' campaign is starting to feel that. but, you know, i also think that they're confident that they can proceed forward with this message and that with the people who support them, clinton's attacks may actually backfire. now, of course, we did see him pretty much hold his own on that debate stage. i think his advisers came out of it feeling like he did manage to stand up to her, even if there were a couple of tough moments. but i do want to point you real quick to this event that we're at today. i actually think it's going to be pretty interesting test of whether or not sanders is going to be able to move beyond what you were just showing there, the discussion around obama.

this is an event that's in an african-american neighborhood, outside of minneapolis, that's been graplipling with a recent police shooting and sanders will take questions with a community organizing group here in minneapolis. the crowd is young, as diverse as the one i've covered with sanders. so i think this could potentially serve as a test to see if he can speak to these communities in large numbers. >> we'll be watching. cas kasie hunt, thank you so much. joining me now is former ohio state senator, nina turner. miss turner, welcome back to "meet the press daily." >> thanks, chuck. >> let me ask you about this criticism that came from greg meeks in particular, congressman from new york. a big player in the congressional black caucus, which he believed senator sanders was disparaging the president when he questioned some of his leadership ability and bringing people together and things like that. what do you say in response to

the congressman? >> well, chuck, certainly i have great respect for the congressman, and all of the congressional leaders from the congressional black caucus. but senator sanders has not disparaged the president, as he put out last night, he has had some disagreements with the president. there are lots of people who have disagreements with the president. but for the clinton campaign to go that low, in terms of really trying to put a wedge between senator sanders and the african-american community, by putting out there that somehow, senator sanders has disrespected the president, is just flat-out wrong. i mean, let us not forget that in 2008, i clearly remember the secretary saying the only thing that president, then senator obama could do, was give a good speech. so now let's fast forward to 2016, now it's all warm and fuzzy. so, again, those comments about senator sanders and the president are unwarranted and they are not true. and i don't think the african-american community is going to fall for the okey-doke, because that's exactly what it is. >> let me play for you what

senator sanders said in 2011 about a potential primary challenge to president obama. take a listen and let me get you to respond. >> there are millions of americans who are deeply disappointed in the president, who believe that with regard to social security and a number of other issues, he said one thing as a candidate, and is doing something very much else as a president, who cannot believe how weak he has been. for whatever reason, in negotiating with republicans, and there's deep disappointment. so my suggest is, i think, you know, and i think one of the reasons the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him. and i think it would do this country a good deal of service, if people started thinking about candidates out there, to begin contrasting what is a progressive agenda, as opposed to what obama is doing.

>> that's senator sanders, clearly upset with president obama back in 2011. >> well, chuck, he was talking about the issues, plain and simple. there's nothing wrong with talking about the issues. but when it comes down to it, he supported the president. and as he said last night at the debate, there's only one person on that stage, that if they had their way, there would not be any president obama. so, again, he talks about those issues. there have been people across the country -- i've heard people say that, as well. but that does not mean that people are against the president. the president has done an extraordinary job. and i'm saying that as somebody who was a delegate for him in 2008, a delegate for him in 2012, he's been one of the most obstructive presidents in the history of this country and race has a lot to do with that. but it is a flat-out my representation for folks to sit up there and try to build a wedge between the president and senator sanders. and again, the african-american is not going to fall for it. we're not monolith you can and we're not that superficial. >> all right, nina turner, i'll leave it there in south carolina

on behalf of the sanders' campaign, thanks for coming on. >> thanks, chuck. let me turn now to the other side. press secretary for the clinton campaign, brian fallon. mr. fallon, let me ask you this. it does seem as if you guys have changed your focus in this campaign, that is, less about hillary clinton and more about bernie sanders. >> well, i don't know that i would state it that way, chuck. i would say that hillary clinton is vetted. she -- her ideas that we've put out there in great detail are available on our website for anybody to read about. we stand by them. we think they will make a difference for working families in this country. senator sanders, on the other hand, has yet to be vetted. he has yet to undergo the scrutiny that comes with being a leading contender for the democratic nomination for president. now he has won the new hampshire primary, it is only natural for scrutiny to come upon him and the ideas and the positions that he's put forward and his record. and so, i think in the coming weeks, as we enter a critical stretch, where by the end of march, 60% of the delegates will be decided, i think there are

going to be three contrasts that emerge in this race. number one, who can get results. and senator sanders, we think his proposals just don't add up, if you look at what progressive economists have said about their health care plan. they said he's lowballing the costs, not being honest with who would emerge as winners and losers. the second issue, i think, is going to be, who can pass the commander in chief test. and i think last night in the debate, you heard senator sanders give a dissertation on foreign policy issues, pre-1975, but that doesn't institute for our plans to deal with the crisis that we face now. and thirdly, as we enter this critical stretch where the electorate gets much more diverse, i think, who has the record on behalf of african-american and latino communities is going to loom large. and in that context, it is quite strange that senator sanders continues to double down on his criticism of president obama. >> well, look, by the biggest thing that came out of red flag for you guys, that came out of new hampshire, if you look at the exit polls is this issue on honest and trustworthiness.

it turned out to be a much bigger characteristic of importance to voters than you guys thought. then this week we learned that the state department is opening an inquiry regarding the clinton foundation during her time as secretary of state. by my count, this makes three active investigations by the federal government that are indirectly about hillary clinton. how much -- yes, she's not directly a target, but how much worry do these, this comes right after your new hampshire primary, how much of a concern is this for your campaign? >> chuck, look, obviously we don't like to see those numbers like we saw in those exit polls coming out of new hampshire. we realize the more we can talk forthrightly about hillary clinton's records, what really is motivating her to be in this race, the more we can address that, i think with respect to the reviews and the various investigations that you talk about, i think it's unfortunate that these processes that are underway have been beset by leaks. and we recognize that that's creating some headwinds. but i think at the end of the day, when these processes play out, it would be clear that

there is nothing hear and nothing to it, and it's just a matter of how long it may take for those reviews to play out. >> so you believe those leaks -- >> she indica'll be vindicated end of all of these processes. and unfortunately there are a lot of leaks coming. and keep in mind, at the end of new hampshire, not only do we have a bunch of leaks coming out of washington, with these various bureaucratic reviews that are taking place, but you also had $6 million worth of independent expenditures by republican and republican-affiliated groups on the air, mentioning her in a negative contest. and that just didn't surround senator sanders. so i think that was a factor that i played into it as well. >> and very quickly on this controversy about super delegates, do you think the super delegates are the best way -- is the best way for the democratic party to assign delegates? should this process -- should a third of the delegates really be sort of left to the establishment and not be connected to people voting? >> well, look, chuck, back in 2007 and 2008, i was working for

senator schumer at the time and he was doing many appearances including on shows like yours and being asked about, you know, shouldn't hillary clinton just give it up? senator obama has a lead based on superdelegates and she just can't overtake him. and that was the argument being made about her at the time. that was the process that helped nominate president obama and under his seven-year reign as president, we'ved a that great track record of significant progressive accomplishments. that's the system that was in place then and remains the system in place now. back in 2008, president obama was viewed as being smart and david plouffe and david axelrod were viewed as savvy for having gone out and done that outreach and secured those commitments from those superdelegates. so i think it's a testament to the organization of this campaign. >> brian fallon, leave it there, the clinton press secretary, thank you very much. >> thanks, chuck. still ahead, we have a little breaking news for you.

i'm sure you were worried about this, but we just learned, officially, that former virginia governor jim gillmore is suspending his bid for the presidency. he had trouble getting into the debates and now he's saying he'll support the republican nominee. so for those of you keeping score, there are now six candidates left on the republican side, total and all six will be in tomorrow night's debate. we'll be right back. in new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. all across the state the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, and the lowest taxes in decades, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in the hudson valley, with world class biotech. and on long island, where great universities are creating next generation technologies. let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today at business.ny.gov

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contributed the most gains, but are still down for the week. stock prices got a boost from u.s. oil prices that are up more than 12% and settled at 29.44 a barrel. and a reminder, the u.s. stock market will be closed on monday for presidents' day. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. vo: know you have a dedicated advisor and team who understand where you come from. we didn't really have anything, you know. but, we made do. vo: know you can craft an investment plan as strong as your values. al, how you doing. hey, mr. hamilton. vo: know that together you can establish a meaningful legacy. with the guidance and support of your dedicated pnc wealth management team.

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in tonight tease "making of a candidate" close-up, we're taking a dive into jeb bush's six years at the helm of the education nonprofit he founded after leaving the governor's mansion and governor's office in 2007 in florid on the campaign trail, bush often touts the depth of his knowledge and his experience as an a education reformer. but much of what was a shining success has become bad i will

tarnished simply by message and his education policy has now turned into an albatross around bush's neck. bush started his organization for excellence in education after receiving something of a rock star status thanks to reforms he instituted as florida governor. not everybody was happy about those reforms, but he took on the teachers' union, instituted the first statewide school voucher program and implemented stringent testing requirements. and through his foundation, bush championed those policies after he left the governor's office and tried to send them around the country. he was a driving force behind sweeping reforms in as dozens of states. he convened star-studded policy summits and at least $46 million in donations poured into the foundation from private companies and flont philanthrop titans. he helped president obama kick off a big push for education reforms back in 2011. >> without further ado, i give you the president of the united

states, barack obama. >> it's time we came together, just like jeb and i are doing today. >> the spotlight led to scrutiny over how bush's foundation did business. the group came under fire for lobbying activities that appeared to benefit corporate donors. it took some heat for dolling out purchases to state officials, like trips to meet and mingle with donors. late in 2014, bush resigned from the foundation to make way for his presidential candidacy, handing the reins to condoleezza rice. so how drid this reform juggernaut turn toxic on bush? it can be summed up in two words. common core. >> he's in favor of common core. how the hell can you vote for this guy? you just can't do it. >> is common core a federal takeover? >> no, and it shouldn't be. >> here's the problem with common core. the department of education, like every federal agency, will never be satisfied. they will not stop with it be a

suggestion. they will turn it into a mandate. >> imagine repealing every word of common core. >> somehow, this phrase became toxic. the republican base now despises the phrase, common core. it's somehow become viewed as a symbol of government overreach, even though it was created in the states, and at the worst, it's become the source of some government conspiracy to indoctrinate children. during his time at the foundation, bush was an aggressive champion of those common core standards. >> these are 45 states that have voluntarily come together to create fewer, higher, deeper standards that when you benchmark them to the best in the world, they're world class. and i'm for that. that's what i'm for. do you want to benchmark yourself to immediamediocrity oe best in the world? if you're comfortable with mediocrity, that's fine, i'm not.

and i don't think most floridians are either. >> his support for common core has dogged his campaign from the beginning. it's fed criticism that he's somehow a rhino, republican in name only, and somehow a phony conservative, despite a very conservative record of governor in florida. now bush strikes a very different tone when he talks about the education standards that he championed. >> common core standards have been poisoned by a political environment that it sounds, you know, common core, effectively, means different things to different people. >> if states want to opt out of common core, fine. >> the federal government has no role in the creation of standards, either directly or indirectly. the federal government has no role in the creation of curriculum and content. >> that first explanation from jeb bush is probably the best one. i'm joined now by mark caputo, guru when it comes to jeb bush and florida politics, and mark is a sister writsenior writer f

politico. if there is an issue that animates jeb bush more than education, i haven't figured it out. education reform seems to be the thing he wakes up and thinks about all the time. >> right, and that's what makes the common core and jeb bush education situation so fascinating, is that this used to be his strength. he was the education governor. and now, all of a sudden, as you said, this is like the albatross that hangs around his neck. one thing is, common core has become toxic, and it became toxic after obama got involved, and it started to be called obama core. and then all of a sudden, you had people on the right, especially on the far right, who started to really hate high-stakes testing. and it used to be mainly relegated or left to the far left. now you have the left and the right, kind of united against these common core standards, and a lot of rank and file nonpolitical parents as well. >> that's what's been amazing here. and it feels as if that shook jeb bush, almost more than

anything else p. i mean, he knew immigration was going to be rough. but the idea that his education record, which at the time, to many conservatives, was transformative, the things he did in florida. and look, it was not popular with everybody in florida. and you get -- i'll get schoolteachers writing me today, how dare you talk about jeb bush and success in florida education. but the fact of the matter is, he remodeled florida's education through his own eyes and he can't run on it. >> that's true. but, you know, as late as 2014, when he started to leave the foundation, and also when florida's legislature started to really struggle with this, it was clear there was a movement among grassroots conservatives that really resented common core. and they really disliked it. and florida caused such a big kerfuffle, they've essentially used the standards, but erased the name common core. they've spent extra money and the politicians have gone to extra lengths to just not say the word common core, but they still support the standards and the push.

>> and the irony now is testing is going away in florida. every county can opt now, if that's the case. so his signature achievement, testing for everybody, is probably going to be gone in a couple of years. >> what's really interesting is how the foundation, jeb's foundation recently fought governor rick scott's administration at the board of education, over the way in which school grades were done. school grading was done under jeb's original a-plus plan, and jeb's foundation basically lost that to rick scott's administration. so you are seeing a slow scaleback of the things he put in place. but give jeb bush credit for focusing on education, for focusing on students, and rising student achievement, as he used to like to say, and says frequently on the campaign trail when you ask him. >> and don't think if he could get to the white house, he would prioriti prioritize education in a pretty top way. >> it might be a little risky, though. as you know, the conservative movement really doesn't like the federal department of education.

i don't know how involved in that he wants to get, especially now. >> not in the first term. mark caputo, thanks very much. up next, we have the ws, including donald trump's ricky bobby moment. >> absolutely, ma'am, i would love to sign your baby. you're not going to wash that forehead. you hear me?

♪ they say you shouldn't spoil your kids. but your grandkids? how about front row seats to the best show in town? and that is why you invest. the best returns aren't just measured in dollars. td ameritrade®. time for the ws. the who, it's harry reid calling on alan grayson to drop his bid

in florida. reid says that grayson blurred the lines between his hedge fund and his congressional office. unbelievable story, actually. in a statement, reid said, quote, it seems like he has no moral compass. then it's not what. donald trump having his own ricky bobby moment. he signed a toddler's hand at a rally last night in baton rouge baton rouge. now to the where. it's maine, and governor paul lepage appointed a new state education commissioner. his name, paul la paige. yes, the governor gave himself the judge, temporarily, at least, citing partisan confirmation hearings. here's how he explained it to the portland press herald, steve misler. >> it's not a big deal, i am just tired of having [ bleep ] by the senate and the legislatures. >> that'll play well in the south. but he's not running. now to the when. it's today. president obama designated three new national monuments in the california desert. the move protects almost 1.8

million acres of very picturesque land. now to the why. the dnc is rolling back its ban on donations from federal lobbyists and political action committees. the ban was originally introduced by presidential candidate, barack obama, in 2008. here's why that matters. hillary clinton has a joined fund-raising committee set up with the dnc, and this move could kick open a new spigot of cash for her and the dnc, but bernie sanders might have something to say about that. the timing of this, eke. we'll be back. why do some cash back cards keep throwing obstacles at you? first - they limit where you earn bonus cash back. then - those places change every few months?

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some candidates suck up to trump or run away from him in fear. jeb bush isn't afraid. >> that is down right wrong. >> he stands up to trump for his liberal democratic positions, calls out frum for insulting women, attacking the disabled and even trashing a decorated war hero. >> john mccain is an american hero. >> the better man. >> lid today, founder of the fix, for the "washington post." also msnbc contributor. we'll start with you. look, that's the first time he attacks trump. jeb bush attacks trump, right to rise is usually attacking rubio. can he get traction attacking

trump? >> well, you know, i do think that trump is currently got voters who are potentially in his lane. there are some moderates. the interesting thing to me about that ads do republican voters have a high opinion of john mccain, which i wouldn't necessarily -- >> waits a minute. i was going to say. if you're airing this out in charleston and the retired vets, that to me, that's mike murphy says john mccain has a high -- >> south carolina, it may be true. isn't the south conservative, more conservative than iowa, like, there are a number of evangelicals who live in the up state, but charleston in that whole low country area is very sort of country clubby, this was mark sanford ter toritory. he ran a well to do business. >> actually, it was an

establishment. >> most pollsters who say that, the southern electorate closely mirrors the national electorate if you were to spread it out among the conservatives, it is a perfect imagine on that front. this is jeb bush's last stand, though, i mean, i think he may not want to say it, but he's got to finish ahead of rubio. >> it is jeb bush's last stand and it is so striking that the last stand has to be an ad that's all about trump. is there anything that could tell you. >> this whole race. >> more about what the race embodies than that ad. that just tells you everything you need to know about 2016. >> give -- >> it's funny, i saw chris christie a few weeks at a town hall and he was asked by a voter when he was going to start attacking trump and christie said you know, it's not that i haven't thought about it, but just watch the space, i'm going to do it when the time is right. >> he is still holding. >> oops on that. >> give the bush people credit

for this. he came in sixth in iowa, and fourth in new hampshire, and all of a sudden, people calling me, emailing me, bush is the momentum candidate. >> he's moving in the right direction. >> he's not dead. >> right. >> thougat i thought was fair. >> he is in very bad shape. but if rubio comes in behind bush. >> equally as -- >> getting to the elimination process here. >> kasich, we're all sort of like -- >> i don't know where he goes. >> wait until ohio. >> wait until ohio and michigan. >> wait until michigan. move to the democrats here, and this issue, you wanted to bring up, bernie sanders is going to out spend and out raise hillary clinton, when i say it, people don't believe me. it is happening already. it is happening now. he is out spending her in south carolina, out spenlding her in

n -- out spending her in nevada. this is an unbelievable development. >> amazing development the amount of money he is able to raise on the internet. it's remarkable. it has the clinton people scared out of their wits. he has her and her super pac, which of course she has nothing do with, in a very bad situation. >> her super pac was never designed to work in the primary. they weren't planning on that. they were planning on the general election. >> right buch. but she is messed up either way. he criticizes her for taking the money from the super backand wall street, but then if she decides to, if they decide the spend the money on her behalf in the primary, then she gets grief for it. but the fact that they're doing it, just illustrates the nature of their situation. >> what a logistical point. he doesn't have to do any events raising money. don't under estimate that. >> he talked about it on

television. >> $6 million. >> exactly. >> out raising the republican field. think about that. >> if they didn't have their own problems. >> that's exactly right. thank you all. we'll be back monday with more "mtp daily." and if it's sunday, it's meet the press on sunday. "with all due respect" starts right now. >> i'm mark halperin. >> i'm john helemann. >> with all due represent to ted cruz, we're going to need you to campaign tomorrow. come in around 9:00 a.m. that would be great. >> looks like someone has the case of the fridays. campaign developments, so let's get right to it. keeping with the