at the top of the show, we asked you why are you awake? well, ace intern john tower has your answers. johnny? >> good morning, mr. barnicle. we get this a lot when you're hosting the show. a few e-mails here. kevin writes, i'm 78 years old, i miss my grandpa, so i enjoy when mike barnicle's on the show. i just don't sleep anymore. joe in daytona writes, why am i up at 5:00 a.m.? i'm 74. >> two 74-year-olds and a 78-year-old. that's a prized demographic in tv land and it gives a whole new meaning to the word being hip.

in other words, watch out. all right. john, we appreciate it. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ the crowd on its feet here at the center. lin puts it up! jeremy lin from downtown! and the knicks take the lead. amazing here. >> good morning, everyone, do you have lin fever? >> happy val-lin-ines day. >> apparently this is a big story. >> i'm going to ask, is this guy a college player? with us, we've got donny deutsch on the set, also the great al

sharpton. >> host of "politics nation." >> and mike barnicle. so this is a guy that graduated from harvard. nobody drafted him. he just bounces around from one team to another and golden state takes him on, cuts him, and donny deutch, you can't write this. >> what's incredible about this story, not to get too holy with it. this is one of the few things where the 1% and the 99% can agree. sees a guy who came out of nowhere, an underdog, a working class guy. >> don't overthink this. you're ruining it. >> and the 1% -- he's a harvard guy, it's incredible. this is one of the great feel good stories i can ever remember. there's something magical here. >> you had the coach of the knicks -- >> who is on his way out. >> might not be now.

>> never seen anything like this before in all my years of basketball. >> you know what it is? with all due respect the 99% and 1%, there were a few things as joining as the great sports story. whether it's secretariat, a horse race, a world series game, or in this case this young guy jeremy lin, i mean, people from all spectrums of life are talking about this kid. >> yesterday i was talking about the only thing i could recall that compared to this was summer of '76, the bird, came out of nowhere, everybody just stopped. >> those are two, but not even close to this. >> you're listening yesterday who said the same thing. >> i did not. >> you're not. but this is great for the knicks. >> oh, it's great for the knicks, great for the city. they did need it. and i agree with both of them, mike and donny, that this was something for everybody.

everybody likes to win. and the knicks needed to win, this was a big win. >> msg stock, through the roof as a result of this, ticket prices up 100 p account. tv viewing while he's been playing is up 70%. >> but you can't get it. >> no, in new york right now they're going through some argument with time warner. >> you know who else is way up? >> who else? >> not only knicks stock. >> oh, we're getting to the news. >> the president's stock up. >> it is. >> and in the new cbs "new york times" poll. especially on the economy. >> yeah, let's start there. i like that. i wasn't going to, but if you're going to -- >> well, it was the only segue. new poll numbers are out this week offering good news for president obama's reelection team. >> absolutely. the latest cbs news "new york times" poll shows the president is beating all four republican presidential candidates in head-to-head match-ups. he is up six points on mitt romney and eight points on rick santorum. president obama's approval

rating is up to 50% with 43% saying they disapprove. when it comes to the economy, president obama's receiving his highest approval ratings since august of 2010. 44% approve of his handling of the economy and 50% disapprove. i think these are amazing numbers, especially given what's going on. >> you consider how badly the economy's doing. donny deutsch, you go inside these numbers and on the economy the president is doing much better than anybody expected. it's been a long time since you've seen a five as a first number in his approval ratings. >> there's a difference between the real economy and what i'll call just the various benchmarks that the average american sees. they see the unemployment numbers going in the right direction, the housing starts going in the right direction. there's a gestalt of good feelings. talk to a lot of economists, they think we're headed to a double dip. there's a long way between now and november. >> i keep hearing about this double dip, mika, and i just

don't see it coming. i mean, the other -- the unemployment rate keeps going down. a lot of other positive trend lines going up. i don't know there's a double dip. >> a lot of people didn't see the first one. >> you know who is having a double dip? >> who's that? >> mitt romney. >> yeah. >> between you and donny this morning, i want to start all over. >> what did i do? >> you're tiring. >> he's got to win in michigan. >> 99%, 1%, gestalt, really? less donny, more reverend al. just a week after his three states, rick santorum taking shape on a national level. four different polls shows the former pennsylvania senator either slightly ahead or in a statistical tie with mitt romney. it is easily santorum's strongest showing of the race so far. this is really interesting story. new cnn opinion research poll suggests 55% of those backing santorum say they strongly support their candidate. the polling shows romney

supporters are less enthusiastic. but when it comes to electability, romney still dominates the republican field 55% think the former massachusetts governor has the best chance of beating president obama. only 18% say santorum is the most likely to win in a general election. >> and of course, the pro-romney people aren't just taking this lying down. the super pac is not taking any chances. they're releasing an ad in upcoming states, arizona, michigan, and they're going to really start hammering rick santorum. let's take a look. >> how did rick santorum actually vote? santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times. and for billions in wasteful projects including the bridge to nowhere. in a single session, santorum co-sponsored 51 bills to increase spending and zero so cut spending. santorum even voted to raise his own pay and joined hillary clinton to let convicted felons vote.

rick santorum, big spender, washington insider. restore our future is responsible for the content of this message. >> al sharpton, i see donny going like this, good ad. you don't think so? >> no. >> anyway, the president and his allies have to love this too. not only is he getting good numbers on the economy, republicans continue to savage themselves into the spring. >> he's getting good numbers on the economy because it's seemingly trending the right way. but the fact that his opponents or his potential opponent are beating each other up for him also helps a lot. because they look like they're in this whole ball of confusion while he looks like he's operating with precision, he's governing, he's managing bad times. well, it's a good time for him. i think what is very striking to me is the only way mitt romney seems to advance is what negative ads.

he can't sell himself. he destroys his opponent. he did it to gingrich, did it to any number of people. the great morning teacher mike barnicle told us it was six front runners this time already. and every one of them, how did they fall? negative ads just about. they didn't fall because they didn't have anything to say because they didn't have anything to say in the beginning in my opinion. it was negative ads. >> mike, bottom line is -- in the end, they fell. and the romney people are not panicking at all. >> no. >> most people would be panicking. you know what? it may not be pretty, it may be like gerald ford beating ronald reagan in 1976. if we have to go to the convention, we'll go to the convention. but at the end of the day, we're going to out muscle them. >> you get the sense, though joe, from walking around the block, a couple of funny things have occurred over the past two weeks i would say. off of the poll with president obama's approval ratings.

one is that people are not really walking around saying, hey, the economy has recovered. they're apprehensive about the economy. but you do get a distinct sense that the parade of republicans in all the debates, the compilation of all that evidence. finger pointing, yelling back and forth has had a weight on the voters' minds saying who are these guys? the other thing is the hhs ruling last week. now the president came to it too late, compromised, i think most people feel that way. but i think many women looked at the republican response and said, what? i mean there wasn't a single -- i can't recall a single republican who achieved headlines by saying, you know, we have to have this compromise. it was the opposite. most republicans saying, you know, we shouldn't do this. we shouldn't have contraception, shouldn't have birth control. a lot of women, independent women are saying, whoa. >> not just women. i mean men.

contraception was -- the only person debating contraception over the past 50 years was george stephanopoulos. yeah, right, sure. it's like the barnicle boys. you know. >> let's not. >> you know, lewis told me something. i wanted to say this on "meet the press," but i never got the chance. lewis said he'd walk in on the barnicle boys beating the hell out of each other, that's what the catholic church does. >> yeah. >> and he'd try to get in the middle of it and immediately turned on him and they beat the hell out of him, and it's like the catholic church. the second -- and this is what my republican brethren need to understand, the second the catholics start fighting each other again and stop all fighting president obama, it's time to move on. because at that point it's not about freedom of religion in most americans' eyes, it's about contraception. >> i've got to say --

>> and you are exactly right. last week when there was the perception that, hey, stop pushing the church around. liberal and conservative catholics, stop pushing the church around, and then the red hats, the bishops and the cardinals started wagging their fingers and a lot of catholics saying, hey -- >> i want to go back for a second. i don't want to gloss over it that mitt romney is not panicking and this is more of the same. it's not. and you touched on this yesterday, he should be panicking. here's the difference where i think the negative ads are not going to have the same effect on santorum they've had on the other candidates. he's credible, number one. number two, how many people in the liberal media have you heard say i don't agree with one thing he stands for, but i like the guy. this is the first of all these characters that's likable as a human being. and i think a lot of people -- let me finish -- a lot of people at this point gloss -- there's -- >> donny, i've got to stop you, protect you from yourself.

it's not that these candidates aren't "likable as human beings," i'm sure they're all likable as human beings, they're not credible as -- >> credible -- by the way, newt gingrich did not come across as likable. donald trump's a friend of mine, he's not likable. michele bachmann to a lot of america -- this is a guy -- >> you don't like a guy that quotes pokemon and says oh, shucky ducky. i like that. >> it's a show we want to watch. the american public has an emotional need to watch santorum and obama. >> no, no, no, on your point, donny, that wasn't bad. you're okay. >> come on, you've got to learn from me. don't interrupt people. >> well, that's the nice thing because you never do that. >> hold on, mika, you may -- >> new quinnipiac poll out of ohio just crossed rick santorum 26% to mitt romney's 29%. and the santorum campaign is in response to the super pac

commercial we saw for mitt romney, they're touting their candidate's record and conservative values in a new spot in michigan as well. take a look. >> who has the best chance to beat obama? rick santorum. a full spectrum conservative, rick santorum is rock solid on values issues, a favorite of the tea party for fighting corruption and taxpayer abuse. more foreign policy credentials than any candidate, and rick's made in the usa jobs plan will make america an economic superpower again. rick santorum, a trusted conservative who gives us the best chance to take back america. >> i'm rick santorum, and i approve this message. >> you know, playing off of what donny said. he can also, as you can see in the shots, he's a regular guy. talking about made in the usa and the problem for romney is now you've got santorum strong in the industrial midwest, newt may come back in march and be strong in the deep south. where does mitt go? >> no, i think the strength that santorum has is in the

republican -- he's authentic. he's not playing a regular guy, he is a regular guy. >> he is a regular guy, yeah. >> i think his weakness is he's very extreme. and i think the more people -- >> on what issues? >> i mean, if you listen to him talk about contraception. if you listen to him talk about a lot of the social issues, he's way to the right. >> do you think he's extreme on gay marriage? >> very much so. >> but let me tell you where i agree with the discussion you and mike were having. a week ago when i sat at this table and the argument started with the hhs, you said to me you -- republicans took it away from being a difficult one for me. it was no longer about religious freedom, which was hard for me to have to fight against. they made it about contraception. >> no, no, no -- >> and that's a problem. >> no, the president made it about contraception. >> they played into it. they started fighting him. >> after that. >> but the second the president

broke up the catholics from this hug-a-thon. when you finally have the sisters attacking the red caps again, if that's what you call them, the red hats, the barnicle boys were beating each other up again, and so it was all like -- the president wins. >> you allow yourself to be baited into that kind of fight, you make it easier for the other side. and that's the danger with santorum. we've got a nice guy and start dealing with the issues, does what he represent become so scarey to people that he loses his luster? the question is, does it happen before the primaries are over or not? that's the bet that mr. romney's going to have to do? >> the one thing i would only warn my friends in manhattan and washington and l.a. and in the mainstream media is that america is much more conservative. i'm not saying rick santorum conservative -- >> this, no, this is true. >> but much more conservative on social issues than they would

like to think. >> absolutely. >> the media is far ahead of the rest of america on gay marriage. you can look at any poll, and it's breaking pro-life way. it's about 50/50 now. but the trend lines in the long run are in support of gay marriage, but we're not there yet over that 50% mark, and the trend lines also are in support of a pro-life position if you look at polls over the past 10, 15 years because of technology, because of medicine. but the media i find has always had a real blind spot on social issues. just because, you know, it's manhattan, new york instead of manhattan -- >> there's other social issues about women, women in the workplace, and to your point, and i agree, the country has not caught up to new york and l.a., but some of the other stuff is -- >> well, you say caught up, i think the rest of the country would say we not slid down the hill. >> i think there's a lot of

stuff that's -- >> or the rest of the country would say that some women have to work because of the economic conditions, as well. but they would rather be home supporting the family front working at home, raising the kids. one more point to bring in before we go to a break, and that is we played the romney and santorum super pac ads. the president who has condemned the use of the super pacs was asked about this yesterday and addressed the issue of why he thinks that even though they are wrong he doesn't want to unilaterally disarm. take a listen. >> the challenge we've got is we've got some of these super pacs that have pledged to spend up to $500 million to try to buy this election. and, you know, what i've said consistently is we're not going to just unilaterally disarm. what we have said is that my strong preference would be to completely eliminate that super pac process. but we're not going to just let

a whole bunch of folks who are not only self-interested but aren't always disclosing what their contributions are to be able to simply purchase an election. >> all right. >> i agree. got a problem with that? >> not surprised you agree. >> no, you don't. you would do the same thing. you would do the same thing? >> of course i would. >> so just be quiet. >> no, but i would run around first saying the supreme court is destroying democracy and then say i'm going to be a part of that. >> that's not what he's saying. maybe you would say. >> he doesn't like the rules, but if these are the rules of the game -- >> how do you fight against something -- >> there you go. >> that's right. >> you've got to fight evil with evil. >> the process has been poisoned. >> i think if there is an uneven playing field, you have to make it even even though you may disagree how it was made uneven. >> it was just like -- >> like the --

>> you've got to play -- >> and it's kind of like four years ago where the president was forced to promise he was going to be held to limits and take federal campaign money and then opted out. >> all right. >> this guy every four years people are forcing him to do things he doesn't want to do and it makes me sad for him. >> makes me sad also. >> well, we're going to force him to do four more years, joe. >> looking that way right now. >> sure is. >> coming up. we're going to bring in congresswoman michele bachmann. >> very likable. >> former director of national intelligence admiral dennis blair will join us, tina brown, and david gregory. up next, rombo. what's behind this political ad popping up in michigan today. >> wow. >> okay. >> how do you get those four people to pose together? >> let's just get that off. but first, let's go to bill karins for a check on the

forecast. it's like march out there right now, temperatures very warm across the country. let's start there, i've got to end with something a little interesting for the weekend. first off, it's already in the 40s in areas of the east coast, 50s and 60s. it's a spring-like forecast. houston to new orleans, up through all of louisiana, late this afternoon, maybe a few tornadoes. we'll watch that later today. as i mentioned, it's a very warm morning. there's no icy stuff. forecast today in the deep south does have those thunderstorms. possibility of some of those storms kansas city to st. louis too. and tomorrow, all that wet weather heads to the east coast. what's going to possibly happen this weekend. one of my long-range computers is saying the possibility of an east coast nor'easter now with the temperatures would be marginal even if it did happen, the potential would be there for a snowstorm which we haven't had this entire winter. this is the only one of my five long range computers that actually shows this scenario, so only about a 20% chance happening this weekend.

if you have sunday plans, at least something to watch. we'll wait and see. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ wind howling ]

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mitt romney has campaigned this week in michigan. and today he put out this ad where he talks about the auto industry while just driving around detroit. i don't know, i watched it. i just don't think that mitt should be talking and driving at the same time. >> now, i grew up in michigan. it was exciting to be here. how in the world did an industry get in such a fix? did all these things the liberals were wanting to do for years. you've got people here in detroit in distress. i want to make michigan stronger and better, and this is personal.

>> that's terrible. >> he should really look at the road. >> oh, my goodness. let's look at the morning papers. start with the "wall street journal." >> from the business section, governor andrew cuomo says he will not use his budgetary powers to help bloomberg win a labor dispute. cuomo officials said they risk a core fight and it would set a risky precedent for the governor to get involved in a local labor dispute. on a related front, the governor was confident that a deal for teacher evaluations would be met by thursday's deadline. and the "financial times," the front page photo shows president obama meeting yesterday with china's vice president, the man who is in line to become the country's -- >> xi jinping. and criticism from president obama about human rights and unfair trade practices.

>> it's expanding, power and prosperity comes increased responsibilities, so we want to work with china to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system. >> okay. >> and with us now, let's go to politico playbook with politico's executive director jim vandehei. jim, man, we're just talking about this michigan race. would you have ever have believed it would be as pivotal as it is now? >> and explain this rombo thing. >> well, and you have to believe anything is possible in this race as you guys were talking earlier in the program. there's been so many ups and downs and different surges from different candidates. but for the -- for santorum to be in michigan, competitive, leading in different states and have enough money to go up with a new ad in michigan. and i think a pretty substantial buy, no one saw this a few weeks

ago. he's basically going at romney and saying romney all he does is sling mud, attacks, and use money to bring down republicans. >> yeah, let's take a look at the ad right now. >> i'm rick santorum and i approve this message. >> mitt romney's negative attack machine is back on full throttle. this time romney's firing his mud at rick santorum. romney and his super pac have spent a staggering 20 million brutally attacking republicans, why? because romney's trying to hide from his big-government romney care and his support for job-killing cap and trade. and in the end, mitt romney's ugly attacks are going to backfire. >> all right, jim. that's fascinating. >> what's going on there? >> there's two messages. one, they think republicans are tired of romney using all of this outside money to tear down different republicans. and two, they want to be able to send a message that, listen, we know you're about to attack us

and we have money to fight back and we're going to fight back more aggressively than newt gingrich did. the big question is, do they really have that much money? he certainly raised several million dollars thanks to this surge, but he's got nothing compared to what mitt romney has. and my understanding is from jonathan martin's reporting this morning is that romney's already reserved $1.2 million in air time in michigan alone for the next couple of weeks. that's probably more money than santorum has total to spend in races over that period. >> well, they're going to go after him, obviously, because they know they have to go after him. i'll tell you another race that is really heating up. >> this is exciting. >> this is going to be a great senate race. >> massachusetts, let's go straight there. new poll shows democratic candidate elizabeth warren is up three points over incumbent republican senator scott brown, leading 46% to 43% within the poll's margin of error. tell us what's going on here. we both, i think joe and i,

thought this would be a close race. >> the most fascinating race in the country this year. relatively low unfavorable ratings, raising gobs of money, she's actually out raising scot brown who is the incumbent senator two to one in the last quarter. they're both going to have well north of $10 million to spend against each other. it's probably going to be neck-and-neck the entire time because scott brown for a republican fits the state very well. he's navigated his tenure in the senate pretty darn well. he's been able to vote against the leadership when he needs to, say i'm an independent moderate, massachusetts voters seem to be saying, yeah, we kind of like what you're doing there. the problem is, he's running against a very attractive candidate for that state. her politics fit the state better than his do and her national profile has allowed her to raise just tremendous amounts of money this early in the cycle. >> mike, how fascinating that in these cynical times where most

politicians are upside down in approval ratings you've got two people running for the same seat that have high favorability ratings. >> two fantastic candidates. >> massachusetts probably's going to have the two best senate candidates from each party running, and they're running against each other. >> and it's going to be an interesting race, a three-point race down to the end, two to three-point race. scott brown has taken an interesting tact. he is doing basically a remake of the old jimmy stewart mr. smith goes to washington movie. he's mr. brown goes to washington. elizabeth warren is a very formidable candidate and belies the myth out there that massachusetts is totally liberal. you get 25, 30 miles out of boston and it's her issue, banks, foreclosure, credit card rates. strong candidate, both with a lot of money as jim indicated. might be some sort of a weakness

for elizabeth warren in that a lot of her money comes from out of state. scott brown's money is being raised in state. >> we heard this before that it's hard for a woman to win statewide in massachusetts which also -- >> not true. >> that's not true. >> she's fantastic. >> is that for governor? it's just -- >> it depends on the candidate. she's a very strong candidate. martha coakley was a weak candidate. >> that's what we heard, that people in massachusetts don't like electing women statewide. >> that's not true. the strength of the candidate would carry the campaign and she's a strong -- >> elizabeth's going to win isn't she? >> i think scott's going to win. you look at those 30-second commercials she puts on there, she's from central casting. we were talking yesterday -- a lot of times you'll get a wes clark that will come into politics and think he's going to take it by storm. most of the people that come from outside the system do terribly inside. she's just the opposite. she's about as good as i've seen

for the first time around. she's the natural. >> yeah, right. and i think barnicle hit it on the head. you have two very talented candidates who very much fit the state. and scott brown is an anomaly in that he's not been forced by republican leaders to do what other republicans are doing in town. they've given him some freedom. he's taken that freedom to carve out his own identity. and that's really the trick for anybody running in the northeast corner of the country if you are republican. it's extremely difficult because their theology does not match with the predominant theology inside of washington. they're significantly more liberal on a lot of issues, especially social issues than conservative leadership in rank and file. >> i think she's going to take it. >> okay. >> all right. jim vandehei, thank you very much. coming up, a showdown in the gulf. united states battleship stare down iranian cruisers in the strait of hormuz. that story when we come back.

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welcome back at 37 past the hour. a new show of military strength by the navy underscores a point that washington has been making for months. that u.s. interests overseas will not bow to threats from iran. nbc news chief pentagon correspondent was there as american strike groups passed through one of the most important waterways miles off the iranian coast. >> reporter: it was daybreak as the u.s. aircraft carrier "abraham lincoln" got underway. led by an american destroyer and backed up by a guided missile cruiser, high-powered protection for the carrier's run through the strait of hormuz. an f-26 surveillance plane makes a leisurely pass. shortly after, the bridge on the lincoln crackled to life. >> looks like he's possibly 2 miles right now. >> reporter: an iranian patrol boat was headed for the carrier and closing fast. >> you'll have an iranian down

the port side of the ship. >> reporter: within two miles of the carrier, the iranian boat backed off. lincoln's commander says his biggest worry is that incidents like this could eventually lead to a fatal miscalculation. >> they have the ability to take a shot at me at some point and that's what i worry about. >> it's a legitimate concern. >> reporter: we've now entered the most dangerous stretch of waters here for the american forces. just beyond that horizon is the largest gathering of heavily armed revolutionary guard fast boats. iranian submarines armed with torpedos and an entire shoreline of anti-ship cruise missiles. because of strong u.s. sanctions over iran's nuclear program, the iranians have threatened to shut down the strait of hormuz and attack u.s. warships. but mark fox says the u.s. military is prepared for anything iran throws at them. >> we're ready today. >> you're ready today?

>> this is the world we live in. what if it happened tonight? what would we do? we're prepared today. >> reporter: prepared for any potential miscalculation. >> and today iran is expected to unveil new advances in its nuclear program. reports say president mahmoud ahmadinejad will announce a new enrichment plant is fully operational using locally made fuel rods. >> i've got to say, i don't know what game the iranians are playing. because if they're assuming that this president is going to let them cross the line. i think they're misjudging barack obama just like saddam hussein and osama bin laden misjudged america before. i don't think we're going to let the iranians get nuclear weapons. >> no, i think -- >> i don't think this president

is. >> despite the fact i'm certainly not one that likes to see war, i think this president has shown he's not going to be pushed around. and i don't know if they think that this kind of game is in any way going to help them. i think he's been very clear from somalia all the way through with the -- with osama bin laden to somalia, he's not going to play games. and i think that this is a dangerous game to play. the only good news is that last statement that you made about them and barack obama is a great sound clip that we should get david axelrod to use for the president's reelection. i'm joe scarborough -- >> i'm not afraid to say that about barack obama and george w. bush, as well. i said this yesterday. or the day before, that the two of these men together from two different sides of political universe have worked together and both sides hate the other side, but if you're looking from

the outside, you have to understand, like the barnicle boys, we divide up, we fight like hell, but once a president walks across that threshold into the oval office, when it comes to national security, forget what they said on the campaign trail because, mike, they get that first -- we were talking about this yesterday, that oh crap briefing. and the second barack obama got that briefing -- >> that's the deal. >> he changed. and he said, i'm going to do what i have to do to protect this country. and i don't understand why the iranians -- i mean the iranians need to see what happened to saddam hussein, osama bin laden, what happened -- what happens to everybody. remember noriega? no, these tyrants end up getting killed when they cross us, and it's going to happen to the iranians if they're not careful. >> the three "is," iran,

isolated, irrational. the fingerprints are all over that bombing in thailand. what joe is referring to is the day that rod blagojevich was arrested happened to be the day that then senator barack obama, president-elect barack obama got his first full intelligence briefing in chicago by people running the cia at national security agency. they put the briefing on the table, the soon to be president looked at it and went holy -- >> yeah. >> donny, where were you the day that in 1979 that the students stormed the embassy and took the americans hostage? >> i was in college, at the university of pennsylvania. >> in college. >> and once again, just to pick up on this -- >> no, i want to stay here for one second. i was in high school picking up the newspaper reading it. do you remember where you were, reverend al? >> i was probably in brooklyn college. >> membership point here is that

when i was explaining this to somebody from the middle east yesterday, that still a scar. the iranians need to understand if they think that even a country exhausted by a decade of dumb wars is going to flinch from doing what we have to do to go into iran, they have no idea what we think about them, what they think -- what we think about their leadership, what we think about their theocracy. to stop them from getting nuclear weapons. >> we're trying to find rational with irrational dictators. and you're looking for rational explanation, there is none. because to your point, we know what we're going to do. >> still ahead, the must-read opinion pages.

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i believe when we look back 20 years from now that someone's going to write a book, the book's going to be written by ben bernanke jr. saying it would have been better had we done all the right things, it could have been better. i do think we've made this recovery slower and worse by uncoordinated policy, the debt ceiling crisis and tons of other things that were misguided. >> all right, 48 past the hour, that was jamie dimon. a live look at capitol hill. a pretty day in washington. mitt romney has a piece he's written for the "detroit free press," and he says this. u.s. autos bailout was crony capitalism on a grand scale. the president tells us that without his intervention, things in detroit would be worse. i believe that without his intervention, things there would be better. instead of a bailout, i favored managed bankruptcy as the way

forward. the course i recommended was eventually followed, but something else happened along the way that was truly egregious. before the companies were allowed to enter and exit bankruptcy, the u.s. government swept in with an $85 billion sweetheart deal disguised as a rescue plan. by the spring of 2009, instead of the free market doing what it does best, we got a major taste of crony capitalism obama style. >> yeah, i guess lehman brothers did all right when they were left alone, didn't they? >> well, first of all, let's talk about the politics of this. we're going into michigan. >> we are. >> internal polls among republicans in michigan show that something like 62% of republicans in that state oppose the bailout, 19% supported it. so this is good politics for romney. the argument they're going to be making, though, moving forward, mike, and you groan. is if they have moved forward

and had the companies declare a managed bankruptcy, then bottom line, the end result would be the same because the unions would have to go back and renegotiate the deals anyway. >> good luck explaining that in the context of a campaign. that dog don't hunt. >> in the general election. >> you consider all the residual factors, all the residual factors involved in the automobile companies getting back up on their feet. the variety stores where they sell the milk and the bread, the clothing stores. i mean -- >> bottom line -- >> ripple effect. >> his argument would be the same thing would've happened if you would have allowed a managed bankruptcy, you wouldn't have the federal government picking winners and losers. >> a, we don't know that to mike's point -- >> we don't know that. that's the point. >> don't rain on a great american story. he's going to look bad doing itment once again, you're talking about innuendo. >> don't attack clint eastwood, because when you do, it's attacking apple pie. >> it's easy. >> if barack didn't go after bin

laden, somehow we would've gotten him anyway -- that's a story -- >> you don't argue with something that worked with something you don't know would've worked. gm is number one, businesses are ployi i employing people. why argue, especially when you wrote an op-ed during the time saying let detroit go bankrupt. >> would you extend that logic to the bank bailouts? we bailed out wall street and the federal government made a profit on that. would you extend that logic? >> you probably would've had a different argument there, but i would extend it, but you'd have a more complex argument than you have in michigan. >> it seems to me -- it seems to me barack obama could actually from the left make an aggressive argument saying, bailed out michigan, look what happened. bailed out wall street, we made money on it. >> the obama campaign team

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last night, reverend al, donny deutsch, joe scarborough, and myself, we were all there at

the westminster kennel club to see who would take home the coveted title best in show. >> best in show at the 136th annual westminster kennel club america's dog show is the picinese. >> that's not a dust mop. named malachi. and the dog was the favorite in vegas. it was given six to one odds. that dog has won, joe, guess how many? do you think joe dimaggio was great? he's expected to head into retirement, like me, but not before stopping here at "morning joe" a little later this morning. >> they're not going to put him out to stud, huh? it's a little different. >> as my grandmother would say, woof, this world is not my home. >> what is it about that dog? >> i don't get it. >> it's a beautiful dog. >> is it?

>> i'm going to the -- >> you called it a dust mop. >> no, no, i said it might momentarily resemble a dust mop, but it's not. still ahead, talking to michele bachmann. and up next -- >> tina's up next. >> tina brown and david gregory. more "morning joe" with a very happy mika. any time the president's over 50% approval rating, she's happy. >> it's a good day. this new at&t 4g lte is fast.

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by the candidates to accompany their comings and goings on the stage. first up, mitt romney, kid rock "born free." rick santorum shakes hands to the tune of toby keith's "made in america." and listening up at a gingrich event, you'll hear -- ♪ top of the hour, beautiful shot of washington, we're not going to go there. we don't need to. welcome back to "morning joe." mike barnicle and donny deutsch are still with us along with now joining the table, editor in chief at "newsweek" tina brown. >> good morning. >> and we have the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory. >> handsome guy. >> healthy and handsome, eats very well, he exercises. >> very healthy guy. and you know who else is healthy as i continue the shameless

segues, politically the president. >> yes. >> there's your segue. >> thank you. new poll numbers this week. i was just taking it in. offering good news for president obama's reelection team. the latest cbs news/"new york times" poll shows the president beating all four republican presidential candidates in head-to-head match-ups. up six points on mitt romney and eight points on rick santorum and president obama's approval rating is up to 50% with 43% saying they disapprove. when it comes to the economy, president obama is receiving his highest approval rating since august of 2010. 44% approve of his handling of the economy and 50% disapprove. first of all, joe, let's universally look at these numbers. are you surprised at all that the president has a five in some of these approval numbers at this point? >> no, only because the economy's getting better. we've always said if the unemployment numbers go down, the economy's getting better. and you also look at this train wreck, this slow-motion train

wreck that is the republican party, we've now had voters since last fall. well, actually last fall actually the fall of 2010 following a list of candidates like sarah palin and rick perry and herman cain, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. and it just becomes more obvious that the republican party does not like mitt romney. they may end up with him, but they don't like him. and it's just created chaos. and that has hurt the republican party and helping the president and the good economic numbers are helping the president. >> and i would just add to the republican field. that's not necessarily good news for the country. i mean, look at the massachusetts race where elizabeth warren and scott brown according to the latest poll are neck and neck. that's good for the conversation to have two good fantastic candidates. i'm not absolutely celebrating the republican field at this point. >> david gregory, though, you look at these numbers with the

president's approval ratings, look at what's happening in michigan, mitt romney fighting for his political life again. these are very good days for the white house. >> i think they'd like to vote now if they could. the president sitting at 50% approval, hold the election now if david axelrod and david plough got their way. if you look at all the trend lines. it is getting going again. you look at this agreement on the payroll tax cut. washington's working a little bit with each other. again, this is what voters want to see. and i think to your point, joe, you look at the republican side of the race, a lot of negativity hurting everybody involved, a lot of cross currents between tea party and social conservative activism in the party and a weak front-runner who is a more establishment figure. they don't have their best foot forward and the president's able to consolidate gains. this is a very good moment in time for the president.

and people say americans want some encouragement to be able to say, hey, i want to vote for this president because i see some things going in the right direction. and i think they've got some of that going their way now. >> well, we should learn more details of that compromise that you mention, david in congress to extend the payroll tax reduction for millions of americans through the end of the year. lawmakers have sign ed off on a tentative agreement. the two sides hammered out a plan last night after house republicans agreed to extend tax breaks without demanding the complete cost be offset by cuts to other programs. under the deal, unemployed workers would be entitled to fewer weeks of jobless benefits and government employees would be required to contribute more to their pensions. and on david's point, joe, i wonder about washington working together in this potentially being a sign of that, is the tea party feeding into the president's success here and hurting the republican party? you hear stories about them being asked to dial it back a little bit. >> no, not at all.

70% of the tea party members said they didn't want cuts in medicare. how far is the tea party going to push for real budgetary reforms? it seems the only time that "washington works together" is when they take us even deeper in debt. what happened yesterday? a deal that republicans and democrats agreed on where they actually stole money from an already bankrupt social security trust fund where we're upside down. social security trust fund is already taking in less money than it's putting out. so we're stealing from the payroll taxes and the funding extreme there. but tina, both sides agree to that. it's like last year when the president extended the bush tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits, putting us another $1 trillion in debt. everybody's celebrating, yay, washington -- they can work together to make us a little bit closer to greece's political reality, but nobody can work together to do the responsible thing. >> right now at this particular moment, i think that anything that is said in any way

legislatively on budget or anything, is about campaign winning. it's about political positioning. obama's budget plan has been declared sort of dead on arrival by republicans, but obama himself is really now positioning himself for his campaign, in the middle of a campaign and this is what it is about. nothing is going to happen until after this election. >> david gregory, i want to show you a shot from "newsweek" talking about a dangerous game, the escalation and the battle with iran. i guess you don't call it an october surprise if you attack a country and everybody expects you to attack a country. don't you get the feeling that iran is going to be front and center in this political campaign and there may be military action well before october? >> well, i certainly think it's possible. i don't know it's the united states that's going to initiate that. it might be israel, which is a lot closer and feels the threat more acutely and wants to try to

neutralize that threat. i don't think there's any question it's going to be a major issue, but it's been an issue for a long time. and i think this administration like his predecessor, president bush, wants to try to neutralize an issue that doesn't have any good military options. i think this is a sanctions game, a leverage game against iran. and i, you know, beyond that i think it's the israelis who may take that first whack. and one other thing if i could, joe, on the other point we've been making and your point which i think is exactly right. washington does work together when they give stuff away, not when they take stuff away. and i think you can still have the political system working, but you know, i talked to business leaders this week during a forum discussion i moderated and keep talking about simpson/bowles because business understands that something's got to give at some point and they just want to know what it is. which is why they want something that will fix the problem, which we're not going to have. >> why were they brought to the table to do this? >> the it remains one of the

great sort of mystery moments of the administration. >> a missed opportunity for the administration. >> this was a missed opportunity. and you look, again, at how reckless both parties have been. the republicans were so reckless under president bush, democrats reckless the last three years and look at these entitlement programs going under. what does george w. bush do and republicans? they add $7 trillion in liabilities with the medicare drug benefit plan we don't pay for. now what have we done two times over the past year? we've sucked money out, again out of the funding stream for social security, people that run businesses know that this irresponsibility, donny, leads us to a very bad place. as richard haass said yesterday, what we're seeing in greece this year, more and more people think we're going to see in america next year where the world markets are going to turn on america and the dollar and

pulverize us. >> what you're saying is true, but it's not going to win a campaign. >> it's been a decade. it's been going on for a decade. and by the way, simpson/bowles was not put forward in a presidential election year, and the president threw simpson and bowles under the bus. >> even romney -- >> right now -- let me finish. it's not going to happen. and i want to shift back to something david said earlier. and where i think the op-ed, romney wrote in the detroit paper today says it all. that auto bailout is a story america wants to hear. we live -- i don't want to say a fairy tale, because that's a real life fairy tale and we don't want to hear reality right now as far as voters. and the fact that bailout to people worked and we can figure it out, that's the story america wants to hear right now. they don't want to hear your story and that's the unfortunate reality. >> go ahead, tina. >> clint eastwood's ad was kind

of a giant success. >> you didn't say that, did you? >> everybody in america -- >> i thought it was just genius to have that craggy, you know, face -- the twilight of america's misery. >> it's a great story, they don't want to hear it right now. >> i'm not sure i agree with that. i think americans do want to hear it because what they want to hear and see is that washington will take on hard problems and solve big problems. i actually agree with joe on that. i agree with you, donny, it's not going to happen this year. there was an attempt at a grand bargain that was mishandled by both sides so you had the debt fiasco last summer, but if there's a second obama term, there's another attempt to take this seriously. >> 100%. >> but that's the point, that some of these hard problems do have to -- we know they have to be looked at. and i think there is a desire for politicians to actually work together to work at getting some things done. and the lack of that is what i

think has so much of a tuneout going on in the country right now. >> i'm beginning to feel a little sorry for romney watching him campaigning in michigan. because, you know, here was a guy who really did think the economy was in his wheel house, he was going to be the candidate to fix the economy, but in the end, his base doesn't want that. his base would rather talk about social issues and he's sort of left without his issue and campaigning also in michigan where the bailout has worked. >> what state is romney from? >> he was born in michigan. >> and where else? aren't there a bunch of states. >> that's okay. >> he lives in massachusetts. >> isn't there a utah thing going on there? a new hampshire thing going on there? >> yeah. >> get to your point. >> what is your point? >> my point is that going back to the authenticity of rick santorum that how many states has mitt romney walked into and declared somehow he's the son of that state -- >> that's the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard -- >> what are you talking about? >> because -- >> i'm serious, that's not

ridiculous at all. and many commentators have said the same thing. >> it's ridiculous. because if you have a wide breadth of experience, it should enhance your knowledge -- >> i'm not saying knowledge, where is your birth state and where you -- >> so while we talk about geography and where mitt romney has or has not -- >> it makes complete sense. >> david gregory, mike barnicle and i are struck by the fact that when you get them talking to you behind closed doors, when the cameras are off, mitt romney's people are still not breaking a sweat. and it's not an act. we all know when people are trying to spin you. these guys still say we can out muscle them. we've got more money, more organization. he's not even on ballots in a lot of states. >> i think here's the problem, i think the data this week in gallup is really instructive. you've got independent voters

starting to break toward the president. again, that's a swing vote and it can swing back and it can move. the prop for mitt romney right now is that all this negativity coursing through the republican race is sending a message to the other voters saying, well, gosh, if none of his people like him, maybe i don't like him either. and i don't know that romney's doing anything to create more of that connection. and he's got time and you hear him talking more about the relationship with his father, more about his family, his faith even. those are the things that are going to have to grow. as you said, joe, there's not a lover affair with the republican party and this likely nominee. he could probably grind this out. but then what kind of nomination is he going to have at that point? once he's the nominee going into all of that head wind of negativity. and i think that's what's starting to weigh on him and the economic argument is becoming more complicated. because it is well, the recovery could've stronger, well the bailout could have been done differently if they would have let him do this.

it's very difficult to argue those points into the general. >> it's easier to make an argument he spent all this money, he's thrown everything at the wall, we're $3.5 trillion deeper in debt and nothing's better. it's harder to say, well, it could have been 7.4% instead of 7.8%. >> and the bailout in michigan, with detroit, we shouldn't have done it, it worked, but it could have worked better or differently, you know, that's not a message. >> starting to sound like the surge in iraq which obama got behind on by saying and other people too saying it didn't work. the surge in iraq actually worked. it was then time to move on to make a different sort of argument against the legacy of the war. >> before we go, andrew sullivan has written the cover "the politics of sex." this seems so last week, tina, but it's not in this sense. and we've been saying this around the table for some time. that last week this was about freedom of religion. this week it's about

contraception. and as i've been saying to my conservative friends, if republicans keep this battle going when the catholic church itself is now divided on the issue, they get creamed. >> look at this new poll coming out that says most voters support the new federal directive. ultimately, andrew argues and it's very interesting that it's going to work well for obama. he made the adjustment which shows he wasn't, you know, in any way, you know, a stuck -- a person stuck on his point of view, and at the same time he's really stepped into in divide between catholics themselves. more catholics wanted the birth control issue than didn't. so actually -- andrew's piece which caused an enormous amount of debate, actually, on the "daily beast" where it's posted is about whether or not in the end it's going to be helpful to obama. >> i agree with the "wall street journal." in the end, it's a distinction without a difference. in fact, you could make an

argument logically that the president's accommodation actually causes more ethical problems for catholics. but we're talking politics here. >> absolutely. and politically, saying we'll give it away for free, saying catholics don't have to pay for it. can i finish this segment? i don't do this often, but when you see a tweet that cuts through the garbage. >> tell me. >> well, this is from jazz shaw. and he retweeted the tweet of god. kim kardashian has found jesus, that's too bad. i thought he was doing a great job of hiding from her. >> i don't understand why you even -- >> any final thoughts, david gregory? >> you know, i don't think i can top that. but, you know -- >> very good. thank you so much, david. we do appreciate it. >> thank you so much. still ahead, we're going to be in former presidential candidate michele bachmann. also, former director of

national intelligence retired admiral dennis blair. and up next, author and columnist bob kagan. but first, here's bill karins. it's too easy, with a check on the forecast. >> yeah, i wouldn't give any credit for whatever you were going to say to me. good morning, everyone. we have pockets of freezing rain being reported in massachusetts, that's really about it, light stuff blowing up through new england. the big story today is the warmth. it's like a spring type day across the country. i'm tracking thunderstorms. those white flashes on your screen are live lightning strikes in the areas of oklahoma and arkansas. we'll have more thunderstorms later today maybe a few tornadoes, east texas all the way to louisiana. if you're watching us from houston all the way to louisiana the new orleans area, you have to watch out for strong storms late today into this evening. the rest of the forecast, look how warm it's going to be in d.c. today, 55 degrees, the

flowers are up and the buds on the tree are coming out. it's crazy. even the northern plains are mild by their standards. and then tomorrow, all that rain and thunderstorms will sweep off the east coast. no signs of really any cold air approaching the u.s. as we go throughout the upcoming weekend. feels like march, looks like march. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 there are atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 account service fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and the most dreaded fees of all, hidden fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, you won't pay fees on top of fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no monthly account service fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no hidden fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and we rebate every atm fee. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck tdd# 1-800-345-2550 because when it comes to talking, there is no fee.

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we have tried to emphasize that because of china's extraordinary development over the last two decades that with its expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities. we expect that china will continue to take a growing role in world affairs and we believe that it is critically important that the united states and china develop a strong working relationship to help to bring

stability, order, and security that ultimately provides a better life for both the people of the united states and the people of china. >> at 23 past, welcome back. that was president obama meeting yesterday with china's vice president. the man in line to lead that country. obama and biden both said china needs to do better on human rights. joining us now from the "washington post" an adviser for the romney campaign bob kagan, author of "the world america made." welcome to the show. good to have you here -- >> you better advise them, buddy. >> they need you. >> and by the way, the -- dan senor sends his best. he calls you the neo con's neo con. i don't know if that's the case. i picked this up and read it, and what surprised me was you and dr. brzezinski both in his

book and in yours looked at what the world would be like without the united states as the central power. and you all seem to both come to the same conclusion, actually. >> yeah, i think that's right. it's very clear. his book is terrific and he does look at this issue of can any other power or group of powers do what the united states does? and we both come to the conclusion that probably not. we shouldn't be sort of complacent about the prospect of american decline if it were to happen because a lot of the things we take for granted about the world today, economically, politically, strategically wouldn't be the same. >> and dr. brzezinski suggests that without america as the central power, you don't have china stepping in, you have chaos. and again, you suggest that we're like george bailey in "it's a wonderful life" where if you want to see what the world is like without america having a

strong hand in international affairs, it looks like pottersville in the end. >> sure, well, we saw what the world looked like right before the united states became the leading power. if you look at the first half of the 20th century and two world wars, but even before that. if you go to a multipolar world, sometimes people think that means multipolar harmony, but they have historically been the source of conflict, endless war among great powers, and that's something we've had a very difficult 60 years, but that's one thing we've been spared for 60 years. >> and the first world war was exactly that, no leadership to take the helm and sort it out. >> u.s. as the central power with one counterpart friend/check and balance? was ussr and now china? >> no, i think the world works best when you have one american superpower and a number of other sort of roughly equal but lesser powers. >> it's easy for us to say. >> well, that's the situation --

that's the situation as it exists now. it's not at our heel, but i think, you know, there were times in the cold war when things were a little too dicey, things have been a little bit better since the cold war. i'm not looking for china to become the new soviet union. >> let's talk about how americans always delude themselves. and you say this. we like to think of ourselves as people that just want to be left alone and we're slow to anger. but when we are confronted, we rise up, swat them down, and then come back home to our farms. you say this is absolute nonsense. >> yeah, you know, we just want to be left alone. but in truth and as the rest of the world can see, i mean, in a way we've been expanding our influence and our power and getting into sort of everybody's business for 200 years just constant involvement. so we're always surprised when people react to the fact that we are in, you know, we're in their backyard much of the time. but i think on balance if you

look at the past 60 years, that's generally been a good thing for the world. >> and i think it's important not to overemphasize our decline because it's not necessarily our decline, but that other countries are rising up. and that freedom and the concept of democracy is spreading across the globe in ways that we have never seen before. >> right. >> let me read, it's the second full screen -- >> you're sounding, by the way, a supply sider. >> you see that, you know, it's a very ambivalent and interesting issue because -- >>

the greater freedom of iran. it's a fine balance as we also deal with what's happening from within, which is a crumbling infrastructure and other problems. >> no, of course, when people talk about the rise of the rest and they see that as somehow a threat to the united states, i think it depends on who's rising. i'm not concerned about brazil's rise, india's rise, turkey's rise, i think that benefits the united states just as japan's rise benefitted the united states. china's going to be more of a challenge and a more difficult problem to deal with. i think we can deal with it effectively. i think the administration right now has a good balance on dealing with china. but that's going to be the kind of rise that creates problems. >> i find it interesting because there was a study done that 2/3 of americans think china is a friendly partner not worried at all, and that goes against a

little kind of intuition, you'd think there'd be a bit more fear about this emerging superpower. >> i was surprised to see that too. i remember the last time we were in a declinist phase, we were worried about the japanese and there were movies about the japanese taking over everything and they bought a building in new york, i'm told, and there was a lot more anxiety about that. in a way, i think it's good americans aren't overly anxious. >> no, it's just surprising. >> anyone doing business in china has to disable all their electronic apparatus because all the information is stolen. that was an extremely scary fact. the idea you have to accept when you're doing business in china that people are going to be trying to steal your information and your corporate secrets. >> the thing about china is not to be overly anxious and realize they are a competitor. that's a reality. they're never going to be just an ally of the united states, they're always going to be a strategic economic and possibly political competitor. >> americans are exhausted by

ten years of war, actually ten years of occupation. >> yep. >> we don't do well as an occupying power. and yet at the end of that decade we're spending $2 billion a week in afghanistan, most americans want our troops home and chances are very good within the next three to six months president obama's going to have to make a tough decision on iran. what's he do? >> and make a tough decision on syria probably too. this is part of the wonderful schizophrenia of the american people. they are tired of conflict and they're always tired of conflict in a way and yet they're always getting into conflicts. the united states is engaged in some form of military action under republican presidents, democratic presidents, ideali s idealists, realists, since the end of the cold war once every two years. and the biggest sort of proof of this continuity was right after iraq, barack obama uses force in libya. and i think the polls show that on iran americans are in favor

of taking action against iran that they're going to get a nucle nuclear weapon. i think the president clearly doesn't want to use force before the election, but i think if he did he might have the american people rallying around him. >> politically -- >> in "newsweek." >> i like to be cautious. >> we were talking about so many people's mind set is still in 1979. it's hard to get past that first impression. >> yeah, right. and that's the thing. americans are weary until the next time they're confronted with some kind of challenge and then they step up to the challenge. that's been their history. >> bob kagan, thank you very much. >> you're getting together with dr. brzezinski soon, right? >> yes, we're looking forward to hearing him talk about his book. >> i would like -- >> isn't there something that would prohibit me from entering there? >> my father would be fascinated by you.

>> by the way -- >> please somebody ask donny to lunch at brookings. >> okay. we'll be right back. bob, thank you. >> thank you very much. ♪ we were skipping stones and letting go ♪ [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious.

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all right. check this out. from the front page of the "new york post." >> yay. >> check the back page of the "daily news," just lin time. >> look at the back page of the "new york post." amaze-lin. >> are you serious? >> isn't that serious? >> last night, mika wasn't at the dog show, she was watching the knicks. >> no. >> by the looks of the crowd, you would have thought it was a knicks home game, signs were everywhere. mid way through the first half, he took it the other way.

watch this, here he goes, boom, boom. lin had eight turnovers on the day, the raptors jumped out to a lead at halftime, but second half comes up, lin settles down, fourth quarter, knicks down by six, lin makes a nice wrap around pass under the hoop. knicks within three with just over a minute on the clock. now under the next possession -- all right, look at that. >> that's art. >> look at that. >> okay. >> economics major at harvard. the clock is right down to it. the game is right down to it. >> who are you going to go to? >> who are you going to go to? you've got good shooters in the knicks. i don't know. >> you don't go to the kid. >> on his feet here at the air canada center. lin puts it up! >> from way downtown. way downtown. jeremy lin, knicks win 90-87, finishes with 27 points, 11

assists, now has 109 points over his first four starts, the most of any player since the nba merger. and after the game, jeremy lin spoke about that last second win. >> i just wanted to make sure i got a good shot at the end of the clock and, you know, he backed up half a step and i thought it was a good look for me. we had show many active hands. landry, tyson, everybody with deflections, rebounds and clamped it down in the fourth quarter, we couldn't get a stop. we couldn't get a stop to save our lives. >> the knicks are still undefeated in the jeremy lin era. how does that sound? >> he's finally off his brother-in-law's couch. he got his own apartment in new york. and despite winning the last six games, they're home tonight here in new york. >> i'll be there. i like that in the headline. part of what makes it great.

i don't think it's strange at all. >> yes, joe. >> they had a very happy val-lin-tines day. >> can everyone stop? >> that was like so genuine, you could see these players love this guy. >> guys kiss each other, you're saying. >> i have no problem with it. >> mika's a huge knicks fan. up next, former -- >> we're all knicks now, mika. >> national intelligence -- let's raise the bar here, retired admiral dennis blair. >> you're such a hater of sports. >> keep it here on "morning joe." [ female announcer ] investing for yourself is a necessity.

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with the pullout accomplished on schedule, the soviets' failed adventure in afghanistan has come to an end. there's no victory to celebrate, no proud ending to this war, it is simply over, over there. >> february 15th, 1989, nine years after they came to occupy the country. the last soviet troops boarded armored vehicles to withdraw from afghanistan, 23 years ago today. welcome back to "morning joe" at 43 past. here with us now, former director of national intelligence, retired admiral dennis blair. admiral blair is now on the board of directors for americans elect, non-profit organization that aims to pick a president in the first national online primary. welcome to the show. very good to have you on. >> i want to get to that in a minute. first, let's talk about news that's just coming over the wire about iran. they're cutting exports to france. they cut exports to european

countries, including france, spain, italy, greece, portugal, the netherlands, it looks like this crisis is going to continue building over the next several months. what should the u.s. response be? >> i think we need to hold the pretty tough line that we are following. iran externally is always going to react with defiance. but underneath, they're weighing up the landscape, what are the real decisions they have to make. and i think they're going to have to make a hard-edge decision about whether they'd rather be an international praia and have their nuclear weapons or whether they could be a nuclear power state under the nonproliferation treaty and have relations with the rest of the world. >> the iranians since 1979 have been the epicenter of terrorism across the globe and we tend to

think of them in the same we we think of, let's say, saddam hussein, but this regime hasn't survived since 1979 based on luck. are they a bit more -- internally, pragmatic, let's say on how they respond to threats outside than a saddam hussein or a moammar gadhafi. >> right, they are very practical and ruthless in terms of what they do within the country. the protest after the 2009 election was absolutely, absolutely tough, aggressive, and -- but they also are worried about tremendous young unemployed population. iran doesn't see itself as north korea, a country that can be isolated and have weapons and defy the rest of the world. they're self-image is a powerful country in the persian gulf, what they call the persian gulf, but connected with the rest of

the world. i think there's a lot more to work with than there was with north korea. >> admiral, i'm interested in your joining the board of americans elect. >> right. >> i want you to tell us why you did that. what you think is wrong with our two-party system right now. and what kind of candidate do you think will emerge this way? >> right, my journey to americans elect board started where most americans are, i think, which is just tremendously dissatisfied that there are big festering problems in this country which we're not addressing in the big way that we have those problems in the past. and that led me to look at this real partisan ranker set in this country, the destruction of the middle in politics. and i think that's the reason we're not making progress. i looked at the bush administration tried to do a big comprehensive bill on immigration, for example, and was unable to do it. and the obama administration

tried to do a big comprehensive bill on health care, another big problem, and that is not going to go forward because it wasn't bipartisan because it was seen as partisan. and i think it brings you back to this -- the way the party system has really in this country has really made it impossible for the things that most americans want to get done because you have to run from the side. so i had the sort of frustration the way everybody does and i'd sit around with my friends and then here this americans elect organization has planned to do something about it. to pick a third candidate directly on a national internet base selection who will not be beholden to either party. >> that made sense to you. >> mike? >> do you think, admiral, i mean many people i think in this country maybe even a vast majority of people in this country firmly believe in term limits because we now believe in washington for the past 10 or 15

years, do you think term limits might help solve this problem more than trying to, you know, go online to find candidates or whatever? >> i think there are a number of organizations like ours in american elect that are trying to take on some of these issues, no labels is an organization in washington that's trying to get members of legislators to sit together. if they don't pass a budget, they don't get paid. back to some of the basics, term limits may be a part of that. i haven't thought it all the way through, but it's getting at the same -- it's getting at the same idea, which is government is not working for us. >> you know, you talk about the iranians being isolated. of course they are isolated. but if you're a member of congress for 18, 20 years or in the united states senate for three or four terms, you know, for 18, 24 years, you're as isolated from the daily reality of americans lives as someone who is living in tehran.

>> i'm not going to bite on our congressmen being like the iranians, but i will say -- i will say this, mike, you know when i was director of national intelligence, i would meet with all the party leaders on the hill and i sat in the national security meetings and in the white house and so on. and what i noticed was the kind of discussion that you could have privately in a setting with just one or two of you was a good, honest discussion of the issues. it would make americans proud if they listened to those, and then you have to go outside when you have to put on the public face and a red light goes on the camera, and these reasonable people become quite different people because they can't allow any space to open to the left of them. if they're democrats, or to the right if they're republicans. compromise is not seen as a virtue, which it used to be, but seen as a sin as which you will be punished in the next party primary. it's this dichotomy between --

and i don't think people -- and i worked in the -- i guess i first came close in the reagan administration when i worked in the national security council, i don't think our political leaders have gotten any better or worse along the way, i think the system along the way. i think the system developed and made them do things which are unworthy of them and the country and we need to change that. >> they're talk about a poll that 58% to 13% of independent voters favor an alternative presidential ticket. that's an enormous number and at the same time it's so much about this money corruption. >> right. >> how do you change that and even if a candidate can emerge and even if his name gets out there, it will get back to this horrendous super pac ads and isn't that the core of the issue? you spend all that time dialling

for dollars. >> you are right. they can complain about it and politicians are right, but if you look at some elections, there is not always a correlation between the person who spent the most money and the person who won. if you are tapping into a dissatisfaction which i think a balanced bipartisan third party candidate can do, that can trump money and i think smart money will come to good. >> retired admiral dennis blair, thank you very much for being on the show. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> all right. >> still ahead, michele bachmann joins us for the first time since dropping out of the republican race for president. you are watching "morning joe." >> running for president of the united states is one series of huh mill yamiliations after ano.

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on tomorrow's show, we will talk to tom coburn and the democrat kit conrad. tune in at 11:00 p.m. singer willie and lil kim are guests on watch what happens live. up next, new poll numbers show daylight for president obama as sick santorum and mitt romney go after each other in michigan. "morning joe" is back in a moment. [ 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.

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>> he puts it out and jeremy lynn from downtown and the knicks take the lead! amazing at the air canada center! >> 8:00 on the east coast as we take a live look at new york city. back with us we have mike and donny and reverend al sharpton.

>> this is the guy graduating from harvard and bounces around from one team to another. golden state takes him on and cuts him. donny deutsch, you can't write this stuff. >> the place is electric. what's incredible about this story, not to get too holy with it, but this is the 1% and the 99% agree. they see a guy who came out of nowhere, an underdog and working class guy. the 1%, he's a harvard guy and it's incredible. this is one of the great feel good stories i can ever remember. there is something magical here. >> you have the coach of the knicks. >> he's on his way out. might not be. >> never seen anything like this in all my years of basketball.

whether it's sec teariate or a horse race or world series. this guy, jeremy lynn, people from all spectrums of life are talking about this. >> yesterday i talked about the only thing that compared to this is summer 76, the bird. he came out of nowhere and everybody just stopped. >> not even close to this. >> you are listening to this yesterday and they said the sim thing. this is great for the knicks. >> great for the knicks and they did need it. i agree with both of them. everybody likes to win and this was a big win. >> msg's stock is through the

roof and tickets up 100%. tv viewing up 70%. >> but you can't get it. >> new york is going through a stupid argument with time-warner. >> you are phenomenal. >> you know who else is on the way up? not only knicks stock -- >> we are getting to the news. >> the president's stock is up in the new poll. especially on the economy. >> let's start there. i like that. i wasn't going to, but if you are going to. why not. >> new poll numbers are out and good news for president obama's reelection. >> absolutely. the latest cbs "new york times" poll show he is beating all four candidates in head to head matchups. he is up eight points on rick santorum and his approval rating is up to 50%. when it comes to the economy, president obama receiving his

highest approval ratings since august of 2010. 44% approveful handling of the economy. these are pretty amazing numbers. >> you consider how badly the economy is doing. donny deutsch, you go inside the numbers and on the economy the president is doing better than anybody expected the. a long time since you have seen a five as the first number. >> a long time since the average american sees the benchmarks. there is good feelings even though there is a lot of problems. there is a low between now and november, but stunning numbers. >> i hear about this double dip and i don't see it coming. the unemployment rate keeps going down and a lot of other positive trend lines going up.

i don't know that there is a double dip. >> a lot of people department see the first one coming. >> you know who is having a double dip? mitt romney. a quadruple dip. >> what are we going to do. >> mitt romney has got to win. >> 99%, 1%. really? less donny and more reverend al. just a week after the-state sweep, new numbers with rick santorum taking shape. four polls show the senator either slightly ahead or in a tie with mitt romney. it is easily santorum's strongest showing of the race so far. this is really interesting. a new cnn research poll suggests 55% of those backing santorum say they strongly support their candidate. romney supporters are less enthusiastic, but with electability, romney dominates

the field. 55% think the former massachusetts govern nor has the best chance of beating president obama. only 18% say santorum is the most likely to win the general election. >> of course the pro romney people are not just taking this lying down. the super pac is not taking any chances. they are releasing an ad in upcoming states of arizona and michigan and really start hammering rick santorum. let's take a look. >> how did rick santorum actually vote? he voted to raise the debt limit five times and the bridge to nowhere. in a single session, he cosponsored 51 bills to increase spending and to cut. santorum voted to raise his own pay and joined hillary clinton to let convicted felons vote. big spender, washington insider. re. >> al sharpton and i see donny

going like this. good ad? >> no? >> anyway, the president and his allies have to love this too. not only is he getting good numbers on the economy, republicans continue to savage themselves. >> he is getting good numbers because it is seemingly trending the right way, but the fact that his opponents or potential opponent beating each other up for him also helps a lot. they lock like they are in this whole ball of confusion while he looks like he's operating with precision and governing and managing bad times well. it's a good time for him. what is very striking to me is the only way mitt romney seems to advance is with negative ads. he can't sell himself. he destroys his opponent. he did it to gingrich and any number of people. the great morning teacher told

us it was six front-runners this time already. how did they fall? they department fall and have anything to say because they didn't have anything to say to begin with. >> with money? bottom line is in the end they fell. the romney people are not panicking at all. most people would be. it may not be pretty and it may be like gerald ford beating ronald reagan in 1976. if we have to go to the convention, we will, but at the end of the day, we will outmuscle them. >> we get the sense from walking around the block that a couple of funny things have occurred over the past two weeks. off of the poll, president obama's approval ratings. one is that people are not really walking around saying the economy is recovered. they are apprehensive about the economy. you do get a distinct sense that

the parade of republicans and all the debates, the compilation of the evidence and congress pointing had a weight on the voters's minds. who are these people? the other thing is the ruling last week. they came to it too late and most people feel that way. many women looked at the republican response and said what? there wasn't a single -- i can't recall a republican who achieved headlines by saying we have to have this compromise. it was the opposite. most are saying no, we shouldn't do this and shouldn't have birth control. a lot of women, independent women are looking and saying whoa. >> not just women. men the only person abating

birth scroll george stephanopoulos. that told me something. lewis said they are beating the hell out of each other and then you look at what the catholic church does. he tried to get in the middle of it and turned on him and beat the hell out of him and it's like the catholic church. here's my republican brethren need to understand. the second the catholics start fighting each other again and stop all fighting president obama, it's time to move on. at that point it's not about freedom of religion and most americans eyes. the catholics say it's about contraception. >> i have to say you are exactly right. last week when there was the perception that stop pushing the

church around. stop pushing it around. then the red hats. the bishops and the cardinals started wags wagging their fingers. >> we touched on this issue. here's the difference why the negative ads are not going to have the same effect as the other candidates. he is credible and how many people in the liberal media have you heard say i don't agree with one thing he stands for, but i like it. this is the first of all these characters that's likeable as a human being. a lot of people -- let me finish. a lot of people at this point. >> i have to protect you from yourself. it's not that they are not likeable as human beings. i'm sure they are all likeable. they are not credible.

>> credible and likeable. newt gingrich did not come across as likeable. michele bachmann too, a lot of america, this is a guy -- >> you don't like the guy who quotes pokemon? i like that. >> and it's also a show we want to watch. the american public has an emotionally to watch santorum and obama. >> on your point, donny, that wasn't bad. they are okay. >> you have to learn. don't interrupt people. >> that's the nice thing. >> hold on. >> a poll out of ohio just crossed, rick santorum 36 to mitt romney's 29. ohio. the santorum campaign is of course in response to the super pac commercial we saw for mitt romney. they are touting their candidate's record and conservative values as well. >> who has the best chance to

beat obama? rick santorum. a full spectrum conservative, she rock solid on values, a favorite of the tea party for fighting corruption and taxpayer abuse. more foreign policy credentials than any candidate and rick's made in the usa jobs plan will make us a super power again. a trusted conservative who gives us the best chance to take back america. >> i'm rick santorum and i approved this message. >> playing out for what donny said, you can see the shots. he's a regular guy. talk about made in the usa and the problem for romney is now you have santorum strong in the industrial midwest and newt may come back and be strong in the south. >> i have the strength that santorum has is in the republicans. he's authentic and not playing the regular guy e. >> she a regular guy. >> his weakness is he is

strange. >> on what issues? >> if you listen to him talk about contraception and a lot of the social issues, he is way to the right. >> do you think he is extreme on gay marriage? >> very much so. let me tell you where i agree on my discussion. a week ago when i sat at this table and the argument is started with the hhs, you said to me you have a hard one. the republicans took it away from being difficult for me because it no longer was about religious freedom. that was hard for me to have to fight against. they made it about contraception. that's a problem. >> the president made it about contra accepting. >> they played into it and started fighting him. >> the second the president broke up the catholics from this hugga thon, when you had the sisters attacking the red caps

again, the boys were beating each other up again. >> but that's my point. >> at that point you have to let it go. >> then you make it easier for the other side. i think that's the danger with santorum. when you get by the nice guy and deal with the issues, does what he rep cents become so scarey that he loses his luster? >> when we come back, congresswoman michele bachmann joins us next. also -- >> questions show at the 136th annual westminster kennel club, america's dog show is -- the pekingese. >> oh, my. that fluffy little thing won. the host of the westminster kennel club dog show is back to introduce us to the dog who took home best in show last night. they wouldn't let cajun in and couldn't get him in here.

they were asking for his weight and all sorts of things. >> cajun in here? >> yes. then i realized it's raining. >> you know what else? >> it's very down. >> he loves that. >> at least cooties. he's got cooties. >> when i was off last week, if i could find somebody to do this show, i wouldn't have to do it anymore. the problem is i couldn't find anyone and i'm here. we are looking for the most part at a warm forecast and looks like march across the country instead of the middle of february. a little bit of temperature and in the 60s. miami will be about 80. warm air surges to the north as we go throughout the week. we are watching thunderstorms even at this hour in the middle of winter throughout arkansas and oklahoma. today we could have a few isolated tornados. if you will be in a march weather pattern from houston to

new orleans. today's fore is the east to the mid 50s and areas of the mid-atlantic and into the 40s. the snow that fell is melted into the value and will continue into tomorrow. a rainy forecast and i still have my eyes on sunday. a 20% chance of a storm coming up the coast, but most assumptions will go off the coast and miss us like the storms have done in this warm and non-showy winter. you are watching "morning joe." brewed by starbucks.

> welcome back to "morning joe." 21 past the hour. republican representative from minnesota and former candidate, congresswoman michele bachmann. good to have you back on the show. >> how liberating is that word former? do you believe this race? it just keeps going on. santorum was at 2% in iowa in december and it's crazy. >> well, it shows clearly that the voters have whiplash right now and haven't made up their mind about any particular candidate and the next big event will be the debate in arizona on february 22nd. that's upon us. that can change the dynamic like we saw in the debate before

south carolina. that changed the dynamic and like we saw the debates in florida, that changed the dynamic. if there is anything we learned is that the debate matters. i think clearly that next debate will be important. >> why can't -- i get my own answer and i would love to hear your answer. why can't mitt romney close the deal with conservative voters? >> that's something the voters have to decide. my decision is made. i'm on board with whoever the nominee will be. i'm in for defeating barack obama and making sure that the republican candidate is the winner. i will be on board. i won't be here to rip apart the individual candidates. it's clear that we haven't seen any of the candidates make the final sale. >> can we talk about what happened and what's happening with this tentative deal the "new york times" said preserves the cut in the payroll tax? just like we had after the 2010

election and people saying it's great that both sides are coming together, but it seems that both sides come when it puts us deep for debt. in this case both sides come together on this payroll tax cut when it's going to actually cutoff a stream of revenue to a social security program that faces challenges. >> it will. i'm a former tax lawyer. that's what i did for a living. i warned my republican colleagues as well over a year ago not to do this in the first place. don't go with this payroll tax cut. simply this year, it cutoff $111 billion out of the social security trust fund. we continue to write checks to senior citizens. we have to. what that means is we have to go to the general treasury and write checks. when you go to the general treasury and open the door to that vault, only moths and feathers fly out.

we're broke. the fact is we have to make sure that we keep our promise to senior citizens. we can't continue to deny the fund in excess of 111 billion a year. that's what this will do and why, oppose this measure and i don't think it's a right way to go. it's a temporary gimmick and established specifically to be a revenue spring to fund social security. let's lead the integrity with the funding stream. >> we had a debate on many things. tom at friedman on the show and most everybody realizes this is a short-term gimmick that won't grow the economy and how fascinating that you don't hear the press reporting on the fact that congress did still over $100 billion from the social security trust fund last year through this gimmick and they will steal another 100 billion next year. >> and the republicans are compromising on it.

both sides are doing this now. congressman bachman, i'm curious about the comment about being all in for whatever wins and this being about defeating president barack obama. i wonder if that's just another way of saying that the republican field is weak and there is not someone that you really feel strongly and want to get behind. >> at this point again we are early in the process just like four years ago with the democrats. we saw barack obama and hillary clinton literally giving each other black eyes and calling each other hypocrites. it wasn't pretty four years ago on the democratic side of the ticket. we will coming to and as we have seen, two weeks is an eternity and once our side decides, we will lock arms and be all in together. it's up to the voters now to make that decision. they will. they will come in the next few months and have a nominee. that will give time to gel as a party. more than gel as a party, also

expand our message to independents and disaffected democrats. that's what we have to do to win in november. i am confident that we can. >> i have to compliment you and you have been talking offset before you came on. i was one of your great critics early on. >> no. i don't believe it. impossible! >> let me get to the compliment. how we watched you evolve and your brand evolve. you started out as somebody who was fringe and entertaining, not to be taken seriously. >> in your opinion. >> in a lot of people's opinion. >> we're watched you grow into a formidable player and congratulations. if i showed you clips of you then and now, i tip my hat to you. having said that and not that you are behind mitt romney, but if you were going to give him advice in terms of you know what, make a move like this or maybe take a turn this way,

where would you push him? clearly what he is doing right now is not working. >> again, i am not behind any of the candidates. i don't presume to give any of them advice other than a generic sense for all of the candidates. it's clear that barack obama's signature issue was obama care and yet obama care will have 20 new taxes in it and we saw last week who obama care looks like. it's one man, the president of the united states who can beat himself a health care czar or dictator and make one decision and everyone else in the united states has to follow. that's what i think people need to recognize and our nominee neats to explain the detriments of his foreign policy and new budget will have vast ramificationgoing forward. that's what the nominee needs to do. focus on the policies and the rest will take care of itself. >> congresswoman, listening to

your legitimate concerns about the fiscal dangers posed by the extension of the payroll tax cut, how does a republican balance those concerns with the extension or continued extension, proposed continued extension of the bush tax cuts? >> they won't be continuing under barack obama. they are going to go away. that is what is troublesome. what people want more than anything are jobs. i'm a small business owner myself. we are looking at tax rates from 35% on small business owners to almost 40%. that's a cost of doing business. that means that more small businesses will be reluctant to hire new people. that's not what the economy needs. we need more private small businesses and feel the freedom to expand. they don't. i was with a number of small businesses last week and they are not hiring because of the fears with obama care and they

can't get credit. i met with small bankers last week and they are beside themselves and pulling their hair out because they have regulators breathing down their neck. stacks of paperwork. they can't create jobs either. there is a real opportunity for our republican nominee to make the case for barack obama as a nongrowth policy in jobs. i think they need to have a pro job formula. we easily can do that because that's what the people want in november. they want someone who knows how to create jobs. i know our field will put forward a candidate who can give that positive message. >> michele bachmann, good to see you again. >> good to see you too. >> she seemed happy. >> she said bye to you. say bye back. >> she doesn't sound like it. >> don't say anything stupid right now. i'm trying to help you. >> i think she has the authenticity. there is no vitriol there.

that's what the american public wants. i'm trying to bring everybody together. i want hands across the states. red and blue to make purple. >> i was afraid he was going to say something wildly inappropriate. >> i was trying to help him. >> by the way, steve is not really happy. >> he's not happy. that's because i read mitt romney's in the detroit free press criticizing. >> the car czar strikes back and boy, did he strike back. we will read that. i can't say some of it on the air. >> best in show, the winner of the westminster kennel club. >> this is huge. >> here can't give us the insight. >> they're wouldn't let cajun in this building and that dog is allowed in? interesting. more "morning joe" in a moment.

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>> i'm a dog worshipper. >> not whisperer. >> that are thing just threw up.

>> ladies and gentlemen, live television. >> no more commercials. this is live, isn't it? it's here. >> do not shoot that. >> throw up on mika. >> queue the music. >> it's not your fault. i have a steak coming your way today. you just made my morning. >> that was not very nice, joe. the last time we had a dog on set, that was richard's dog and he threw up on me. i will try this again. hopefully things will go smoother. they are not going to though because i'm next to donny. the director of the communications for the kennel club. the pekingese mall i can. winner of the best in show prize at the 136th annual westminster dog show last night. mall i can is here with his

owner. i am transfixed by the dog's hair spray. you were spraying this dog's coat. a light conditioning spray with hydrating agents. can i use this? i'm jealous that mall i can has a nicer hair spray than i did. what made him the winner? >> the judge made him the winner. every breed has a standard of perfection and when a judge picks the dog that goes best in show, it's the dog fay feel exemplifies the breed. >> he's a nice dog. >> why -- obviously the judge picked him and all the dogs look incredible. specifically what a judge would say this is why this dog wins. >> this breed, they want a read that is rectangular. they have to have a wide body and areao rear and short legs and they have to have that nice

rolling gait. >> in joe is not gracious enough to let me do this, i would have so much fun. >> try this hair spray. it's better than your gel. >> i don't use gel. >> he just sprayed me. this dog's mare looked like mine did in that video. i wonder, i saw you styling it up and you were serious about it too. >> yes, yes. >> how much does appearance count at the westminster dog show? >> they have to look good or they won't have a chance. dogs are groomed to perfection. they have to be sprayed and brushed. prepped. >> mike will be upset that i am asking this. this is the first year that barnacle missed the show. i love dogs. i have three dogs. yet you kind of look and say there is something nutty going on with all this. i say that with all due respect.

>> worry all due respect. >> there is something nutty going on here. >> why do we all love this? you know what i'm saying? >> we all have dogs and love our dogs. they are members of the family. i call it the alma mater factor. you want to root for the brittany on. >> i spent 30 minutes trying to get my dog in here. i kind of understand. i have to say. >> people like the challenge of trying to breed a dog that fits the standard of perfection and taking it to a show like this and competing and trying to win. it's a challenge. >> give us the big picture about this winner as opposed to those that didn't make it. >> at the end, there seven great dogs and they are all wonderful specimens of their own breed, but this dog, you have to have something extra. it's a dog show.

this is a dog that owned the ground is stands over even though you may not be able to see the dog. it has charisma. >> he's kind of cute, i have to say. >> you give the dog a pep talk. >> look! i'm going to brush your hair. >>ive gave had him a few steps and a piece of chicken. >> you are so cute. >> you give them your favorite toy and squeak it and get them up a little bit. >> they are ready it go. >> in madison square garden they get themselves going. they just go. >> i would like to see a westminster mutt at some point. >> we wouldn't have a standard for a mixed breed dog because you can't they how tall it should be and color it should

be. i am joining the mutt show on the view which is about mixed breed dogs. >> he should be a contender. he has a pigtail. that dog right there. thank you and thank you, mall i can. congratulations. up next, steve rattner responds to mitt romney who calls the 2009 auto bailout capitalism on a grand scale. business before the bell is next.

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we are going to talk more about phil griffin. he's the president. come back here, phil. >> you know the stage manager. >> right? >> he is not talking earlier about the ratings. new york city has been taken out. it is up 80% from a year ago and half of the audience is gone. serve watching. >> you talked to every door man. it's all anybody is talking about. >> you saw was the sell out this year and last night was asian night and there people -- >> i don't understand that. >> toronto has an asian night? >> it's huge. >> they have asian night? >> imagine if you had black night or jewish night? >> the thing here, six days, the entire knicks organization has changed and he changed the nba

and gives you hope that you can change th >> mike and i were talking about this and you appreciate this because you were a huge baseball fan. the only parallel you can think of is the guy coming out of nowhere. 1976 marked that. out of nowhere. it's as if the guy got transported here from space. let's hope that the story lasts longer. >> i remember that. i went to a game back then and the guy had funny moves. he is the real deal. when he took that three-pointer, i don't have the -- >> it keeps growing every day. when carmelo comes back, it will be interesting. if he starts pounding the ball and they slow down, the garden will start booing. this is jeremy lynn's team. are he said something

interesting. what is chemistry? when you win, you have chemistry. >> all right. >> we are ripping everybody. >> goodbye, now. back to the office. >> i'm not sure you treated mall i can with the due respect. >> i'm sorry. did i not do a good job. i wasn't morning show enough. >> 114 straight wins. >> what was the contempt? >> i asked if people thought that and he got upset. >> he should be. >> i didn't mean if. it's nutty. >> it is nutty and they were spraying the dog with hair spray. >> do you give him a pep talk, he's knows he's on the big stage. it's the garden. >>. >> you oftened michele bachmann. >> i complimented her. >> you tried to, but you should know that when you do what you think is comp limning a woman.

>> it feels dirty. >> it makes everyone feel that way. let's move on now. let's get past it. >> cheese factor, sleaze factor. >> the dog show was huge. >> maybe i had hrnl problems with it because of cajun. >> you were jealous. cajun has the mange and deer ticks. they won't let him hang out with other dogs. >> what did you say? >> deer ticks. >> he does not. i wash him. what are you talking about. >> and a tape worm the size of westchester county. you don't want that dog around other dogs. >> that's not nice. he's perfect. and by the way -- >> you know. >> he's a rescue from hurricane katrina and wouldn't have made it out of the house today because it's rainy. >> do they put him out?

>> it's like secretariate. >> our good friend -- >> in the free press, mitt romney wrote this instead of doing the right thing, obama rewarded them and contributed to millions to democrats and his campaign was granted an ownership and a major stake and two flagships of the industry. american taxpayer was asked to become a major stockholder of gm and a politically connect and challenged obama campaign. he was asked to preside over all of this as auto czar. this was crony capitalism on a grand scale. the president said things in detroit would be worse. yes, they would. without his intervention, things would be better. >> i didn't know that part. steve rattner responds. >> as he should.

>> from a booming detroit. he is about to do the next clint eastwood ad. >> i will read that if i may. this was wrong on romney's part on a number of levels. number one, it worked. the auto industry was saved, correct? >> uh-huh. >> clueless and disingenuous. roam me in's suggestion that private capital is utterly fan taft cal. the task force spoke to every conceivable provider of funds and at that moment with a stock market and the economy shedding 700,000 jobs a month, no one, i repeat no one had the slightest interest in funning these companies on any terms. i challenge romney to produce one single individual investment fund or other source of money that can disprove the conclusion that every member of the auto

task force and every independent expert who was consulted. >> everybody in the business community. there was not a dime for these people. >> he was in an absolute free fall. they were going bankrupt. >> i think the most simplistic example of what is wrong with mitt romney in that no matter what it is, he will try to twist it and turn it and barack obama is going to continue to point to this. we saved the auto industry and that guy after the fact would not say. this is i think a very, very is serious mistake for romney to do this. he should have let this pass. i have to tip my hat to the president and this was one area. he got it right and here are the areas he got it wrong. bad mistake. >> it doesn't make sense. >> unfortunately for romney, the wait of seven or months of debates and back and forth and trump and herman cain has hurt

their brand. as that is happening, barack obama through a series of events looks like he's the serious guy. >> let's not forget he put a bullet in osama bin laden's head. that's really -- you put the cherry on the cake for a lack of a better word. wow. >> you just did. >> like i said. more "morning joe" in a moment. ♪ they see me rollin' ♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling and tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ [ mom ] hi, there. why do we always have to take your mom's car? [ male announcer ] the security of a tiguan, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪

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welcome back to "morning joe." time to talk about what we learned. what did you learn? >> we can't do it. he can't do it. >> mike, what did you learn? >> i learned unfortunately for some bizarre reason a big dog like a black lab can't win the dog show. i don't know why. >> what did you learn? >> i learned that steve rattner rules. i was at the hair salon yesterday and t