they have no choice here. >> we were faced with a situation as to whether we could afford to play by two sets of rules, and the answer is 0 obviously no. that doesn't mean that we believe this is the best way for the system to function. the president is going to continue to fight for ways to reform that system is in the future, but that's not going to happen in this campaign, and we have to live in the world as it is not as we want it to be. >> alex wagner is host of now noon on msnbc. joe is editor in chief at national memo.com. good morning, joe. let me start with you. the president's campaign manager said, look, we can not fight this campaign with one hand tied behind our back. he was this inevitable? >> i think it was, chris. the democrats tried to stop assume pacs. the president criticized this, has supported the constitutional amendment to get rid of super pac money. democrats tried to make bigger disclosure here and the question is whether you -- i think the

republicans would like to have it sort of both ways. the president opposes this and can't do what they do under the same rules. >> and he expressed concern about this. he talked about it in the state of the union. he talked about it with matt lauer on sunday. let me play that little clip. >> now if you ask me, would i love to take some of the big money out of politics? i would. unfortunately, right now, partly because of supreme court rulings and a bunch of decisions out there, it is very hard to be able to get your message out without having some resources. >> we said at the top this is a tricky one for the president because he's been so long, so against this, but it could backfire on him. we're hearing republicans put out the statement saying he's a flip-flopper, you can't believe what he says. >> oh, the flip-flopping allegation. yeah, it is not antithetical to what barack obama stands for. he opted out of public financing during the 2008 race and that

got a hue and cry. it's a self-created problem, the democrats have been saying for a while this could be the billion dollar election. that jumped up the base. if you look at the numbers to play ball and to really win this hinge the administration has to make more of a push for the super pacs. >> it it did make it. they said more difficult, his criticism made it more difficult to say to democrats, hey, give money to us, to our super pac when they've been hearing something different out of the president. but it's also arguably angered some folks, joe. for example, on wall street, people who might be giving money to his super pac because of his stance on banking regulation. how much of this do you think the problems the democratic super pac has had are about the president's statements and how much of it is about the president's policies? >> i think some of it is. i wouldn't be surprised. look, the president would be better off as the guy who raised unprecedented amounts from small donors in 2008, amounts nobody had ever seen before from small donors online. he'd be better off if everybody

had to do that and had there were no huge contributions like this. no question about that. after four years in office where he has angered big donors, yes, he'd be better off. on the other hand i think if he pushes for some of the larger donors to come around, they will. it will at least even it out on the super pac side. the issue is as a virtues person who tried to make a better system, do you get punished for that later when it doesn't work? >> and the answer may be -- >> if we're talking about the wall street question, there is a lot of anger directed at the president from the wall street folks and i think that has in large part to do with they don't think he understands business. it's a cultural division. as far as no good deed going unpunished, this is a race to the top or the bottom depending on where you are. >> let me ask you about the race to the bottom because we've seen what this has done to the republican race. the ads have been unprecedented.

we say this every four years. we've never seen such a nasty campaign. this has been a nasty campaign. now the money comes in on the democratic side, what about them? is. >> drawing this battle out is in no small part due to the fact there is money to draw this out. in the end, if you end up with a very bruised and bloodied nominee, if that's mitt romney and he doesn't win the white house this year, you have more impetus to come together with the democrats and say, look, we need to reform this process but someone needs to get hurt in the process. >> hold on because we obviously should point the out today that there are four republicans who want the president's job still and they're competing today in the missouri primary, two decisive wins in the past week. mitt romney now going for four in a row trying to head off a possible surge by rick santorum. >> florida, you're the best. we thank you, nevada. >> we are going to contest every

place, and we are going to win. the romney headquarters in boston sends out the rumor that they believe i will withdraw which is, of course, their greatest fantasy. i'm not going to withdraw. >> the american public does not want to see two or three candidates get into a mud wrestling match where everybody walks away dirty. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. >> what the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up and quit being poor. >> it ads another clip to tafd axelrod's greatest hits reel. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> there are some things you just can't imagine happening in your life. this is one of them. ♪ beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain ♪ >> what did you think? >> i saw it in the greenroom. beautiful.

>> she should be secretary of state, that's a diplomatic comment if ever i heard one. that was just the last week. can you believe that? we've been seeing a different mitt romney in recent days aiming more of his fire at rick santorum even as he backs off the town halls and sticks to his 15-minute stadiump speeches. nbc's peter alexander is following the romney campaign. niece johns town, colorado, today. peter, mitt romney has not answered a question from a voter in three weeks. what gives? >> reporter: i think it's even longer than that. it was january 13th was the last time we were with him in hilton head where he took some questions from the audience. they were off the wall questions and anytime there's a question that's off the wall it's a moment wasted from focusing on the message. the romney campaign has been meticulous, focused, and has really stuck to its stump speech throughout and more particularly to what will happen tonight in a conversation within the rom think campaign late last evening they said be prepared for rick

santorum in an effort to try to reduce expectations, be prepared for rick santorum to win perhaps in minnesota if not in two states tonight and even as we speak, chris, we got an e-mail blast from the romney campaign trying to tap down expectations. they would like to win in every state but acknowledge they can't do that. it says, missouri is strictly a beauty contest, reminding us that no delegates are handed out there today and as our campaign is set from the outside hit romney is not going to win every contest. they want to make sure the headlines tomorrow are buffered in case this they read santorum, the big winner of the night. >> peter, thanks to you, we appreciate that. andrew raferty is following the santorum campaign on the phone from colorado springs. what's the feeling there? i'm sure you just heard what peter had to say. the romney camp trying to tamp down expectations. >> reporter: that's right, chris. they think it could be the best day they've had really since the iowa caucus.

he will be in all three of the states voting today, kcolorado this morning, minnesota and missouri tonight. as peter pointed out the missouri contest is really an interesting one. on the surface it is essentially a beauty contest. no delegates will be awarded but it is going to be a symbolic victory if santorum can pull it out because gingrich isn't on the ballot. a head-to-head matchup with romney to give him the opportunity to say, listen, when we have the alternative to mitt romney, i can beat him and that's important for someone who needs fund-raising, momentum, something he hasn't seen since january 3rd when he won the iowa caucus. >> andrew rafferty, thanks to you. what does it say about mitt romney at this point in a campaign he's still worried about a rick santorum where, frankly, his positives and negatives are upside-down and people say the more they get to know him the less they like him? >> what it says is in marketing the dogs won't eat the dog food.

in the republican party they don't want the to eat the dog food so you end up with somebody -- a nobody like rick santorum who was beaten soundly in his own state, probably the worst senate defeat in history. this is not somebody who is a real presidential candidate, but people don't want to vote for mitt romney in his own party. there's a large majority who don't want to support his nomination. >> realistically, do you see an opening for rick santorum? >> look, you have everyone from the pages of "the wall street journal," bill kristol, saying why not mitt romney? undeclared but quietly acknowledged front-runner. >> they wanted mitch daniels. these are not real candidates. >> it is represent it tiff of disaffection with mitt romney. i think it's a problem that here we are after he won these states and has the money behind him he is having to have conference calls about rick santorum.

it is a sign that the romney campaign is not the going to leave any stone unturned but also the fact that his grasp on this thing is a loose grasp. >> but the fact of the matter is, if you're rick santorum, you can have all the big names like the big kristols of the world saying he could be the real deal, and if you don't have money and you don't have organization, the two things mitt romney has been building for four, six, ten years -- however you want to make the argument -- what does he do with that? >> i think romney is likely to have the nomination. it's hard to imagine either gingrich or santorum let alone ron paul defeating him. the question is, what is it worth when he gets there? you've seen over the past month his numbers are going down nationally. i mean, he's now behind the president in almost every poll. this is partly a consequence of an improving economy but also what people are learning about all of these candidates. >> and is there an optics problem with him not answering questions or is this something

that we just talk about? >> look, he hasn't taken a question from a voter in three weeks. this is campaign strategy. stay quiet. look presidential and just try and go out and win this thing. i think at the end of the day he has proven he can learn. at specific points he went on the attack with gingrich. that worked if in his favor. i think he needs to go out there with a bigger message. i think he needs to listen to his conservative critics. >> isn't that the interesting thing? when he did sort of put himself out there, he regained his footing and the momentum and now they're back to where they were which is just, you know, we made this plan and we're not going to deviate from the plan. >> it's a defensive strategy, too, saying he doesn't care, it did not work well. that was the messaging that they had to do the day after they won florida. this is a defensive strategy. they need to go back on the offense after the next couple of primaries and they need mitt romney talking elegantly about policy. >> he's not the kind of candidate you can let run off by

himself. you just don't. it's not a good idea. every time you do, he will say something like i don't care that much. even though that's not what he meant, it sounds terrible. i lake to fire people. well, that wasn't exactly what he meant, but still there's the sound bite. and it's just they mount up. >> wait until we see what the super pac has to do with that, sound soundbites alone. joe, thank you for coming in. alex, we appreciate it. every day at noon eastern time you can join now with alex wagner and joe conason at nationalmemo.com. thank you so much. one of the most outspoken and effective leaders in america will reveal what he says is the winning game plan for democrats moving forward. ralph nader joins me live at 10:30, about 15 minutes from now right here and we are starting to get some details on the obama administration's budget proposal. it will ask congress to spend half a billion dollars for alzheimer's research over the next year. not all the money will need congressional approval, though. under the plan announced just

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we are watching this big backlash unfold against the obama administration because of its decision to make catholic hospitals and other institutions provide birth control this their health insurance plans. now it looks like the a administration could be backing off a bit. >> the real question is how do we get together and resolve this in a way that respects the concerns that have been raised but also assures women across this country that they're going to have the preventive care they're going to need. >> the author of a book and pro choice america, good to see both of you. we heard something very sim is

lar from jay carney, the rez's spokesman, yesterday. so is that what we're looking at now, some sort of compromise he here? >> we think the decision that the administration made is actually a reasonable decision which is that employers should have to cover contraception as a basic benefit for women and that churches themselves can be exempt from the lan. we think that's the reasonable position. >> so let me play for you on the "today" show what rachel maddow had to say. >> i see this as a part of a larger issue on contraception. and right now all of the republican candidates have taken pretty far right perspectives on contraception. i think seeing it as an extension of anti-abortion politics. >> is that what's really going on here? and when you look at the numbers, and there's lots of polling on this, most women approve of and many use birth control. catholic women included in this. so why should they be denied? >> speaking as a noncatholic,

nonwoman -- i think you knew the second part of that -- i think this is such a big issue that even people like me who are not catholics feel this is a time to stand up and to speak up. this is not about contraception. this is about religious freedom and more fundamentally it is about america this is a moment where people on the left and the right if forget about where you stand politically. you have to think about this as an issue of religious freedom and what is right, and there are people in america who are not catholics, like myself, who are aghast that the government would take this step. this is a big step to say in a accepts to catholic people all across america, with all due respect, we don't care what you believe, we are going to mandate this. if you don't comply, we will fine you. this is a moment every american has to say this was when it happened. this was when either i spoke up or i didn't. if you are catholic, if you go to a catholic church and up priest did not say something about this this sunday, you need to call up your priest and ask him why not?

why didn't you speak up because most catholics understand -- even if you don't rack tis contraception, this is what the church teaches and the government is saying stick it. >> and the numbers behind this are big. i want to take a minute to explain exactly what we're talking about here, the scope of catholic health providers in the u.s., for example. richard louie hui has been look this. >> when you take a look at the number of visits, 90 million visits to a catholic church each and every year according to the united states conference of catholic bishops. now come over here. that's one in eight hospital visits when you take a look at the total numbers compared to the millions of community hospital visits in the 2009 census. now there's a catholic health care system in every state of the union and in 28 of those states a contraception mandate exists although in 15 exceptions to the rule are broader than the national requirement we're talking about right now.

then there's the money. catholics for choice noted that $45 billion in public funds were grant ed granted to religiously affiliated hospitals. the costs for not following the federal rule could be prohibitive depending on how you look at it. they have two choices here, ignore the law and face stiff fines or cut ties with the church as some hospitals have already done. now some are even thinking of protesting by dropping coverage altogether. "the wall street journal" gives an example of notre dame. if they drop coverage, listen to this number, penalties could mount -- could amount to $10 in million a year and an argument one official made on the white house blog was that 98% of catholic women have used contraception during sex already that study done. so, chris, catholic hospitals have until august of next year to comply to the new rule or not. >> or if you listen, donna, to what david axelrod says, it is a

time for re-assessment. does a re-assessment need to be done based on everything that we've heard over the last 48 hours or so? >> oh, no. i think this policy is well considered the way it's being implemented now. it's reasonable. churches are exempted from this requirement. but let's remember that universities and hospitals employ people of many faiths and of no faith at all, so they don't have the right to impose their conscience on their employees. women use contraception, and catholic women use contraception, 98% of catholic women use contraception. it's not right for them to have to go to their bosses to ask permission to use this very basic form of health care. >> it's also an issue at that has been made, eric, of frankly if you go 0 to a hospital, doctors don't make hospitals run. they'd be the first to tell you that. there are a lot of folks who work in hospitals who are on the lower end, the middle class end of the income scale for whom,

frankly, having to take money out of their pockets to pay for birth control is a big issue. >> these are all side issues. we're going to cut to the chase. the other day i met the president of the united states -- >> at the prayer breakfast. >> an affable situation. i gave him a copy of my book, which he said he's going to read n. that book you read about what happened to an amazingly great country called germany. i'm half german. in the early '30s little things were happening where the state was bullying the churches. no one spoke up. in the beginning it always starts really, really small. we need to understand as americans if we do not see this is as a bright line in the sappsand, if europe not a catholic, it doesn't matter. this kind of government overreach will affect you. if you don't speak up we're going to be in trouble. >> did the president hand republicans ammunition for their argument that this is an administration that does have overreached, that they want to

make government bigger, they want to control everything from washington, politically was it a bad move? >> oh, absolutely not. i mean, birth control is not a controversial issue. 99% of women use birth control. this is not the a side issue, with all due respect to mr. -- >> 99%? >> yes. 99% of american women use contraception. >> does that include my daughter? >> women struggle with the issue of paying for contraception. this is a very basic benefit and nothing in this policy requires anyone to violate their religion. everyone still retains the right of conscience. everyone still reserves the right not to use contraception if that's their choice. >> we have to let that be the last word. donna, thank you so much. donna crane from naral and, eric, thanks to you. the there's a court decision coming up on prop 8 that bans gay marriage in california. it's expected at 1:00 eastern time this afternoon. the ninth circuit court of

appeals will rule on whether it rules the rights of same sex couples. backers have vowed to take this fight all the way to the supreme court and, of course, we'll have that decision for you when it happens. who is the "your business" entrepreneur of the week? a piggly wiggly building became available, this woman decided to buy it. instead of just opening one, she opened three. beasley's chicken and honey. they share the same kitchen so she saves money on resources. tylenol:nyquil. what are you doing? nyquil (stuffy): just reading your label. wait! you relieve nasal congestion? tylenol: sure. don't you? tylenol (another bottle): hmmm...no... nyquil (stuffy): dude! anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods?

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♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪ vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. a little later this hour president obama is going to be checking out the projects at the second white house science fair. he'll meet students behind all kinds of experiments from curing cancer to collecting solar energy to reducing waste. they are using this as a chance to announce new training for math and science teachers. obama 2012 merchandise causing a stir this morning. republicans say designer duds may violate campaign finance rules because they're selling for a fraction of the price their regular stuff would. well, the campaign insists the designers volunteered their times to design the scarves, bags and shirts so it doesn't break any rules.

by now you've probably seen this controversial ad that's angering both democrats and republicans because of the racist undertone. >> your economy is very weak, ours gets very good. we take your jobs. thank you, debbie spend it now. >> the candidate running the ad, pete hoekstra, stands behind it. >> the only group of people this ad is anti is anti-debbie stabenow, the spending policies of the liberal left. there's nothing in here that has a racial tint at all. >> and we're just hearing former senator bob kerrey has decided not to run for u.s. senate in nebraska. it's a big blow for democrats who hoped to hold on to the seat of retiring senator ben knenels. february is black history month and on this day in 1926 negro history week began and later, of course, turned into black history month. the man responsible, this man,

carter g. woodson, the son of freed slaves. the woodson dedicated his career to the field of african-american history and earned a ph.d. from harvard in in 1912. nong his famous quotes, if the knee grow in the ghetto must eternally be fed by the hand that pushes him into the ghetto, he will never become strong neve in you have to get out of the ghetto. ♪ ♪ spread a little e today ♪ ♪ spread a little love my way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ ♪ ♪ spread a little joy... [ female announcer ] fresh milk and real cream. that's what makes philadelphia. ♪ so spread a little... [ female announcer ] and that's what makes the moment we enjoy it, a little richer. ♪ real belgian chocolate whipped with philadelphia cream cheese. new indulgence. the moment just got a little sweeter.

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and i don't have to do any of it in sweatpants. i believe because it works. your turn. your time. your year. [ female announcer ] weight watchers, rated #1 best plan for weight loss by us news & world report. [ jennifer ] join for free. weight watchers points plus 2012. because it works. this breaking news just in to us. an official with the susan b. komen for the cure has handed over her resignation, she quit over that planned parenthood brouhaha over funding for them. her name is karen handle, a former canndidate for governor f georgia. she announced her resignation as vice president for public poll l si in a letter to komen officials just this morning. she apparently was one of the people who pushed for suspending funding for planned parenthood. there was a big hue and cry, as you'll cry. the charity reversed the decision days later and now she has announced her resignation.

some other stories we want to get you up to date on now. disturbing new details in the murder/suicide of josh pouwell and his two sons. in addition to smoke inhalation the county medical examiner says the boys had injuries to their heads and necks and a hatchet was found inside the destroyed house. police say powell, who was the only suspect in the disappearance of his wife, meticulously planned the deadly fire even though donating the boys toys and books to goodwill. a superintendent is replacing the entire staff at an elementary school where two teachers were arrested last week for allegedly committing lewd acts with students. it is designed to provide a fresh start at the school. the displaced staff will continue to get paid. now in case you haven't noticed prices at the pump have jumped 19 cents over just the past four weeks. the average now $3.48 a gallon,

that's up almost a dollar from a year ago. analysts say gas could jump another 60 cents by may that would top the $4 mark. heavy artillery, rocket fire, and more violence in syria again today as russian leaders are right thousand talking to president al asad. the u.n. could not enforce stricter sanctions. >> i'm a human being. i'm just asking for help. i don't know how these things work. all we want is help. we don't care how. >> thousands of syrians have died in the last 11 months but the syrian president has given no sign he's willing to step down. jeffrey goldberg is a national correspondent for "the atlantic" and managing director of the washington institute. gentlemen, good morning to you. jeffrey, i'm sure you saw how incensed susan rice was. let me play just a little clip. >> the fact that russia and china chose to align themselves

with a dictator who is on his last legs rather than the people of syria, rather than the people of the middle east, rather than the views of the rest of the international community was indeed disgusting and shameful. >> jeffrey, how serious is this right now? >> well, it's an extremely serious situation in syria. one of the reasons it's so serious is that syria has felt, the government, has felt buttressed by the failure of the security council to act so it is using even more brutal methods now to kill large numbers of its citizens. so russia really -- russia and china -- really helped the regime here. and what you hear in susan rice's voice is also a kind of not only frustration but in the face of this russian veto. >> and no military involvement here, michael. so what's the alternative? and maybe the question people

are asking, what's the difference between what's happening here and now and what happened with gadhafi in libya? >> well, people do ask that question, chris. the fact is the administration doesn't really have very many good options. you remember they were reluctant to intervene in libya, which was in many ways a simpler situation. it was a clear opposition that was taking territory to bat. here it looks like a messier situation. and the administration worries even about arming the rebels because they think that could cause a descent into further violence. they are willing not to intervene but to increase the pressure on assad through sanctions and so forth. >> let's talk about iran. more u.s. sanctions announced yesterday and i'm wondering, jeffrey, does that mean the government is getting more concerned about an escalation there? >> yes. the obama administration is extremely worried and has been

worried for some time that israel will take unilateral military action against iran. i'm not saying that these sanctions are solely a by-product of that worry, the obama administration has been fairly straight forward and clear about its desire to see iran get off this nuclear track. and so it's all part and parcel of the same thing. you see a general escalation in rhetoric, and you see an escalation in iranian activities in the gulf, hostile activities in the gulf to some degree, and you also see now sanctions becoming more and more ratcheted up. the problem comes in the end when there's nothing left to sanction and the iranians are still moving forward with this nuclear program. then it becomes an enormous question. >> israeli officials say these will never be enough. you, jeffrey, have a piece out with the headline israel can't act alone.

let me read what you wrote. the message from obama to netanyahu is clear. we've got this. we won't let iran go nuclear so please don't do anything yourselves. and if you attack, you may wind up hurting us. >> yes. >> so how do you convince israel not to bomb iran? >> well, this is the key dynamic here is the relationship between president obama and netanyahu who, from what we understand, doesn't quite trust president obama's assertions that he will not let iran go nuclear. >> michael, do you agree with that assessment? >> well, i think that's right. for the israelis don't want to attack iran any more than i think the united states wants to attack iran. i think both sides would like the sanctions or diplomacy to work and while we do have these new sanctions also behind the scenes there are diplomatic efforts under way. i think, though, what the israelis and what other allies in the region want to feel confident of is if the sanction ises don't work the united states will be willing to take

military action. and i think it's that confidence that's lacking right now. >> michael singh, jeffrey goldberg, thank you very much. so we go from really things of huge consequence to things maybe not so much but, boy, are people talk about it. we just learned this morning clint eastwood is going to dough it nate money from that controversial super bowl ad that has the republican all up in arms to charity. just in case you missed it, here is a quick look. >> this country can't be knocked out with one punch. we get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. yeah. it's halftime, america. and our second half's about to given. >> republicans say that ad was spinning for president obama. karl rove went so far as to say the ad was a turnoff. >> i was frankly offended. i'm a huge fan of clint eastwood. i thought it was an extremely well done ad. but it's a sign of what happens when you have chicago-style politics.

>> eastwood was a longtime republican and he issued this statement. i am certainly not politically affiliated with mr. obama. it was meant to be a message about job growth and the spirit of america. i think all politicians will agree with it. jonathan capehart is an msnbc contributor and opinion writer for "the washington post." well, apparent lip not all politicians agree with it, jonathan. >> hi, chris. i'm mystified by this. what was there not to like about -- especially in the clip that you showed of what clint eastwood said? it's such a pro-american, pro-detroit message that should transcend politics and yet you have karl rove and other conservatives who, quite frankly, seem to be rooting against america. and this isn't the first time we have seen this happen. remember back in october of 2009 when the united states and chicago lost its bid for the 2016 olympics and there is video from a conservative tea party gathering of people there act l

actually cheering the loss of an american city and a personal failure of the president who personally went to copenhagen to pitch chicago for the olympics. they cheered that. under normal circumstances those very same people would be calling that behavior un-american. >> it's interesting because i thought when you looked at last year's ad also from chrysler and you have this iconic rhythm from m&m driving that ad and clint eastwood that iconic voice, he is an icon in america. >> right. >> similar message. yeah. we have something even more important to talk about, though. >> oh? what's that? >> it's the headlines on both of the new york papers. have you seen them in washington? >> yes, i get "the post" and "the daily news." ball buster and super ball. gisele blaming her husband tom brady's teammates for the patriots' loss. here it is.

>> eli rules! eli owns your husband. >> the receiver didn't catch the ball and my husband cannot throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. >> i cannot wait for spring training. jonathan, can you hear me? >> she sort of is violating t the -- one of those rules in sports. it might be a little sexist but wives and girlfriends are best seen and not heard. >> ew! >> i know. i said i hate -- i discourage -- but it seems as though not only did it she throw her teammates -- his teammates under the bus which is going to make it difficult for him to face those guys when they get back together again to do whatever it is football players do after the super bowl. >> i overheard a gentleman saying -- this is being talked about in new york this that story yesterday. what i overheard is you're just

jealous because she is beautiful. one doesn't necessarily separate us from the other. yes, we are. jo jonathan, thank you so much. >> thanks, chris. >> and one more super bowl note, sunday's game on nbc was the most watched television event in history with an average viewership of 111.3 million. it just beat last year's big game. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons.

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in the next hour 0 of msnbc the backlash. president obama -- [ inaudible ] your mike isn't working. should i read your tease for you is this a super reversal? urging supporters vowing not to fight with its hands behind its back. the campaign team is urging supporters to give to a pro-obama super pac and family in shock and grief. the double murder/suicide in washington. that story is unbelievable. we're hearing from the grandparents now and thomas roberts will have all that have coming up in just a few minutes. thank you, thomas. republicans moving a step closer in selecting their nominee with the caucuses this minnesota and colorado today, the primary in missouri as well. our next guest says he doesn't care who republicans put up.

he says democrats and the obama campaign should have the same game plan. i'm joined now by three-time presidential candidate ralph nader, founder of the center for the study of responsive law and author of "getting steamed to overcome corporatism." good to see you, mr. nader. >> good morning, chris. >> your game plan you laid out, i'm going to go through the six points, save the post office, raise the minimum wage, and the bush tax cuts, collect unpaid taxes, end corporate tax loopholes, bring the troops home. i'm thinking at least four of the six of these, seems to me, would set off major fights with republicans. is that your point? >> yeah, the point is the democrats can landslide the republicans in the congressional races by simply taking the side of people. people -- corporations should serve people and not people serve these big corporations. and then they can fill in the blanks. and the record of the republicans is incredibly bad. they have come out in the house

against food safety budget. against minimum wage, against clean water. against clean air. they've come out for more war, more military budget. they've protected the corporate tax breaks. they don't want to restore the tax increases on the wealthy. they basically stand are for the 1%. and i've talked to democrats in the house and i said if the republicans are as bad and corporatist why aren't you landsliding them? >> do you think the president is setting a good example? he clearly is trying to make those kinds of arguments you are talking about. is it you think he's not making them strongly enough? do you think that congressional people in congressional races are not listening and following his lead? >> yes to both. the problem is the democrats are dallying for the same commercial dollars for their campaigns as republicans. that inhibits them from making extremely powerful landslide case against republicans. millions of people working

minimum wage little or above. it is $7.25 federal. that's $2.75 less in inflation adjusted figures than it was 44 years ago. in 1968. and so if you want more money for consumer demand in a recession economy to create jobs, that's one way. bring the minimum wage up to where it was in 1968. if you want to end the wars and bring the soldiers back home, you release many, many billions of dollars to repair america, it to create good paying jobs, restoring and repairing public works in an america that can't be exported to china. >> do you think the president has a better chance of winning now given the argument you've just made and the arguments he's been making in a similar vein against mitt romney? do you feel better about the democrats' chances now than you did six months ago? >> yeah, they look pretty good. all the democrats have to do is answer the questions millions

are asking. whose side are you on? if they can hak a compelling case and it's an overwhelming case if they want to make it that they're on the side of the people and the big corporations have to serve the people instead of the reverse, they should landslide the republicans and keep the -- recover the house, keep the senate. and part of that is a law enforcement move to apply law enforcement cracking down on corporate crime that goes after wo worker safety, corporate crime that defrauds consumers that puts too many burdens on the taxpayer. the tax position of the democrats should be simple. tax what society likes the least, that is pollution, wall street speculation, corporate crime, before you tax work. in other words, for example, the slogan could be tax what they burn not what we earn. so it's wide open if the democrats want to stand with the people. that's what i'm telling the democrats in the house as they dial for the same commercial

dollars as the republicans do. that's the big problem in the two-party tyranny today other than lack of valid access for third parties. >> long time voice is for the progressive causes, ralph nader, good to talk with you. >> thank you very much, chris. today is national aids awareness day and the tweet of the day comes from aids.gov. african-americans bear the greatest burden of hiv in the u.s. get educated. get tested. get involved. [ female announcer ] investing for yourself isn't some optional pursuit. a privilege for the ultra-wealthy. it's a necessity. i find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists. quickly. easily. i use pre-defined screeners and insightful trading ideas to dig deeper. work smarter. not harder.

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i don't know if you've heard this but the giants won the super bowl. what you're looking at is lower manhattan, 3 million people came out the last time the giants won for a ticker tape parade there, just getting everything together and are going to get started. absolutely gorgeous weather there and the big center fold in "the new york post" says blue heaven, which is what it is. there it is, i can show it. blue heaven for new yorkers and giants fans everywhere.

so we're going to be keeping our eye on lower manhattan. the team will get the key to the city from mayor bloomberg and cap off the day with a rally at their home stadium in new jersey. don't get chris christie started on that one. that will wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next and i'll see you back here tomorrow. [ male announcer ] how do you trade? with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. try our easy-to-use scottrader streaming quotes. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade.

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