welcome back. we're inside q's lair here. he tore, he ruptured his achilles. can you see that? playing hoops, thought he was 18 years old again. i asked him, did you do it trying to dunk or something? he said no, i was dribbling the ball up the court. that's how you know you're old when you rupture your achilles when no other people are around. tower, couple of quick e-mails. what do you got? >> a lot of response from your debut -- your "watch what happens live" last night. twitter writing it was great seeing you and the queen bee on the andy cowen show. >> it was great being with andy, and lil kim, of course. it found myself in the middle of a beef between her and nicki minaj.

i don't know what i waded into there. >> we need to clear something up at the top of the show. >> what was going on there by the way? >> johnny in ohio writing i was doing fine until i saw that disturbing old man stalking willie behind the show. al writes, who was standing behind you? >> that's mike barnicle. he was kind enough to fill in for me yesterday. we forgot to inform him his services were not required today. he showed up anyway and tried to start the show. appreciate you being here, mike. "morning joe" starts right now. i'm just delighted to be back in michigan to see some old friends. gosh, i got lots of old friends here. there's an old high school -- we lived across the hall from each other. chuck and others from grand rapids. i'm so honored to be here to have so many of you here. i'm going to talk about what we're going to be doing over the next few years to get michigan working. there's another guy from my high

school and a gal -- there's a lot of high schoolers here and i'm just -- this really does bring back memories. any old girlfriends here? oh. i have to be careful. anne's not here today. don't tell. >> wow. >> good morning. good morning, everyone. it is thursday, february 16th. welcome to morning joe. >> i don't know if you noticed there. >> what? >> i know willie geist did. >> what? >> because willie -- i can't make up anything. >> yes. >> let's say this is mitt romney, right? >> uh-huh. >> did you notice when he goes around like the honey bear nothing else moves. it's like he's on a turnstile. >> that's not nice. >> i'm not being negative. but he's like this, oh, look, there's a friend from high school. >> stop it. stop it.

>> willie, there's an old girlfriend. there's no movement down here. it's just all -- >> stop it. with us onset, msnbc contributor mike barnicle. >> let's be positive. >> what you did on "way too early." >> he also implied he was a player in high school. oh, all the girls. >> they didn't ship him off to france for nothing, man. >> that's right. >> mike? >> yeah? >> he was stalking willie. >> did you see that? >> it was weird. i felt uncomfortable for you and i'm thinking about writing something up. i don't know. we also have -- look at this, this is what willie trying to do his show. >> a freak -- >> what is that? >> boy, anne is going to be ticked off. we also have with us the president of the council of foreign relations, richard haass. an awful lot to talk about. and we're going to get to your

meeting with the next in command in china and get your impressions. i know you guys played handball for a couple of hours. and i want to sort of download what info you got from him in between sets. >> president obama is on the west coast today ramping up his reelection efforts. stopping in wisconsin before a pair of hollywood fundraisers last night, the president highlighted the resurgence of u.s. manufacturing as a sign of economic success. >> over the last 23 months, businesses have added nearly 3.7 million new jobs. manufacturing is coming back. companies are starting to bring jobs back. the economy is getting stronger. the recovery is speeding up. we're moving in the right direction. and now we have to do everything in our power to keep our foot on the gas.

and the last thing we can afford to do is go back to the same policies that got us into this mess. >> new numbers suggest the president is gaining traction in ten key battlegrounds, including florida, pennsylvania, and virginia. taken as a whole, president obama tops all four republican presidential candidates in those swing states. new polling shows on average the president leads mitt romney by eight points in those ten states. the president leads rick santorum and ron paul by double digits and newt gingrich trails by the president by 20 points. >> wow. >> but when you look at ohio separately, the two republican front-runners come out on top. president obama falls six points behind romney and three points behind santorum. according to the latest cnn opinion research poll, president obama leads the gop field nationally. the president gets over 50% support against each republican candidate. when asked which social class the top candidates favor, most

people said rick santorum and barack obama are most concerned with the middle class, 32% say barack obama favors the poor, 65% say mitt romney favors the rich. in case you're asking. >> well -- well, that's fascinating. >> why is it fascinating? are you surprised by those numbers? in any way, shape, or form? >> no, i'm not. it's fascinating because the republican party should be in great shape right now. to take on this president. and they're not. he's had a great run since the end of the year when republicans sort of fumbled the ball on the tax extension and it continues. but the republicans just keep shooting themselves in the foot. rick santorum, for instance, he's not shooting himself in the foot, but you can tell the romney people were getting nervous and they started leaking

old interviews he made on contraception, on birth control. and you know when my wife susan is looking at something, she's pro-life, very conservative, and she's reading what rick santorum said and she's going, he believes what? you know at that point he may be outside the mainstream not of all voters, but even of very conservative pro-life voters. >> well, let's get to that story then, shall we? just as the hhs contraception controversy created problems for the obama administration, painting the president as some say insensitive to individuals' rights to religious freedom, republican presidential candidate rick santorum is now being painted as an extremist on social issues after previous comments he made about birth control surfaced on the internet. all right. the first remark happened in an interview with cn-8 about six

years ago. >> this is from a personal point of view, from a governmental point of view, i support title 10, i guess it is and have voted for contraception and i don't think it works, i think it's harmful to women, harmful to our society to have a society that says that sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or tolerated, particularly among the young. and i think it has -- and we've seen very, very harmful long-term consequences to a society. so birth control to me enables that and i don't think it's a healthy thing for our country. >> so he said birth control contraception was harmful to women, harmful to society, beut he said back in 2006 i'm going to separate my personal beliefs with my policy issues. believe what you want to believe but make sure it doesn't affect how you're going to treat americans. then in last year, he gave an interview in iowa, and this is what he had to say.

>> one of the things i will talk about that no president has talked about before is i think the dangers of contraception in this country. the whole sexual idea -- contraception's okay, it's not okay. it's a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to what -- how things are supposed to be. supposed to be in marriage, supposed to be for purposes that, yes, pro-creative. and that's the perfect way that it should happen. >> let's go to mike barnicle because mike, a practicing catholic and is proof that he doesn't believe in contraception, he has like 87 kids. so mike, we've got to pick this apart. santorum said of birth control

"it's not okay." sounded like a priest. and that's fine, if you're a priest, that's your job to tell people what the church's teachings are. but as "time" magazine stated yesterday online, 99% of women have used contraception in america. and he warns again of the dangers of contraception and he says it's a license to do unnatural things. i don't know how he gets around that. and again -- >> he doesn't. >> the reason i'm talking about this is because when conservative pro-life women in the republican party are concerned about this, this doesn't just lose him independent voters in ohio and michigan, this loses him republican voters in the deep south. >> joe, we spoke about this yesterday. and it makes you wonder if what has happened over the last ten days in american politics if many republicans have chosen to

just say, well, women aren't going to be important in next year's election. i mean it's almost as if they've made a conscious decision to write off independent women as voters. on this particular -- santorum bites, it's a direct reflection on the poll numbers we showed three minutes ago. this is seriously out of the mainstream of american thinking. i respect his beliefs. >> i totally respect his beliefs. >> he's entitled to his beliefs, god love him, he has them, holds them strongly enough to put his entire political future in jeopardy because that's what this does. that is not in the mainstream. >> and by the way, i respect the heck out of him for what he believes. i have catholic friends who believe the same as him. mika, you're a catholic, i think on social issues -- >> and a woman. >> and on social issues you're more conservative, i think, than many. >> yeah. >> what do you make of these

santorum clips. >> i don't think there's anything wrong with believing that, i really don't. i don't think that means he's going to ban birth control across the board. those are his personal beliefs, and i think as a father and a man who has held public office, he's lived up to them, which makes -- it appears -- makes it interesting for the conversation, and there's a conversation every family should have about birth control and its role in society with their own kids. he's got his own and he stands by them and i think he's an interesting part of the national conversation in terms of where our society is going. there is a lot of risky behavior out there that happens to be connected to birth control. so there's a whole other side of this conversation. and not once did i say should it be banned or should it not be covered by health insurance, but i think it's okay to have those beliefs or those concerns. >> but the idea that sex should only be for pro-creation --

>> right. >> that is the catholic -- >> that's the catholic way, my friend. >> that is the catholic -- >> you're episcopalian? >> presbyterian. forget being outside the mainstream, that's completely foreign to i would argue 99.9% of americans that you only have sex to create another human being. >> now that said, i mean, willie, the church with over 1 billion -- aren't there like 1 billion catholics running around the world right now? >> yeah. >> the official doctrine of the world's largest church is exactly what rick santorum's stating here. >> that's true. but i would -- >> it's not -- it's not as if he got this from a -- >> i know where he got it and i would defer to our resident catholic, but i would venture to guess that a lot of catholics don't follow that to the letter of the law. >> one of rick santorum's problems here of what he's

talking about here is over the course of the last 15 to 20 years and especially within the last ten years, there's been a widening gap between the leadership of the catholic church the cardinals and bishops and the parishioners because of their inability to control the pedophilia scandal within the church. they turned a blind eye toward it for too many years and now people have turned a deaf ear, i think mika would agree with me, to much of what comes out of the mouth of these ranking bishops and cardinals. >> i have to agree with you. >> when you were playing handball with the chinese vice president, you talked about contraception. >> amazing. >> i was going to thank you for keeping me out of the conversation until this point. i was beginning to relax a little bit. mika's on to the interesting issue. whether you can express personal preferences this day in politics and distinguish that or differentiate from that in policy proposals and whether someone like rick santorum can get away with that, whether

that's sustainable. >> and i'll let you continue in a second. but just to clarify, in the 2006 interview there was a separation between private beliefs and public policy. he knocked that wall down in the 2012 interview where he said 2011 interview where he said i'm going to talk about this as president. so i'm sorry -- >> you can talk about it as president without necessarily banning things or what have you. i think that's the issue. he can say as strongly as he wants this is what i think is right for america, for my family, this is what i believe in. but i think so long as he then says but i understand others disagree with me and i'm not going to legislate and have executive orders on these things. whether that's a sustainable political position. i leave that to you and whether people can say, well, i may disagree with him, but i'm not scared of him so long as he does that. and i would simply say that might be a sustainable position. >> right. he obviously needs to come out and say that he's not going to have his attorney general work to try to overturn griswold.

>> i didn't hear that in his comments and i think that's what the problem is, everybody listens to these sound bites and immediately starts, you know, yakking on the air and echoing each other that he must hate women and birth control and wants to ruin our society. no, he personally does not think it's necessarily right for him and he's worried about the impact of giving what he calls a license to a lot of young people because potential risky behavior. these are really important conversations. ones we should have with our children when they're at the right age and those are his beliefs and he lives up to them. i respect that. >> all right. so does the vice president of china. >> no. >> talk about your meeting, richard. >> a lunch with the vice president -- >> when you all went out and played a round of golf. >> no, let's move on -- >> what's your take? >> this relationship -- let me take one step back. this was forged in a geopolitical context in the cold war and the united states and china agreed on one thing, we

didn't much like the soviet union. this relationship has to survive the end of that era, the end of the soviet union and the fact that china has risen dramatically into something of a competitor. so it's a major geopolitical challenge. he came over here at a time where he has to be careful because he wants to be the next president of china. while it's likely that happens, it's not 100% sure. he handled it very well here. what he wanted to do was defend traditional chinese positions but not make waves. what he wanted to do was essentially make a strong pitch for u.s./china cooperation at the same time he protected what he calls china's core interests. things like taiwan, things like how they handle their human rights situation. and he came here at a time when u.s. pushback against china particularly over economic differences, greater chinese assertiveness in asia is rising. so it's a tricky balance to get it right. i think he basically has pulled

it off. spent last night in muscatine, iowa. he essentially played it carefully and did not do any harm. and nothing happened here that's going to get in his way of being the next president of china. from his point of view is probably the single most important part of this trip. >> so how -- where is china right now? what is their mind set? because of course over here like we were fearful of japan in the late '80s at a time they were beginning their lost decade. are the chinese insecure? do they believe they're not going to be able to continue the type of growth that's going to sustain their power structure? >> they're not the world's second largest economy. they're a player. it's a dramatic rise. hundreds of millions of people have come out of poverty, it's an extraordinary accomplishment. on the other hand, to use your word, they're insecure.

they're worried about the fact their economic model is insustainable. they can't live by exports alone, they've got to stimulate domestic demand. protests in china, tiananmen square, they have more than 100,000 protests a year in china. they're worried about what's going to happen at home. they're worried about tibet, taiwan, they're worried about environmental issues. so, yes, the chinese are a funny mixture of confidence. china's rise, this is their moment. and in security because they see all the challenges to their position in the world and they see in this country a different -- a slightly different attitude, essentially china, you've got to play by the rules, you've got to stop subsidizing these state-owned companies. your currency has to rise more. and so forth. so they're nervous a little bit about american pushback. >> really quickly, top of politico, mike barnicle, a massachusetts story. with a kid that i'm telling you, this guy -- you want -- where do you want it, t.j.?

right there? from 5 feet this kid is a ringer for andrew scarborough, is he not? is that not crazy? >> yeah. >> but -- >> young joe kennedy iii who i'm told is one of the best. is going to be running for congress. >> yeah, well, i'm -- you know the wrong person to ask about him because i've known him for quite some time. he's a very, very good young guy -- >> i thought you were going to say he owes you money. >> no, he's a good young guy, a formidable candidate obviously because of his last name, his ability to raise money, and because of the nature of the congress district that he will be running in, which is largely barney frank's old district prone to elect and re-elect democrats. >> right. >> but he's going to be a solid candidate. >> good guy. >> not only for congress -- >> good kid, smart kid with a good background. >> that's great. >> and barney frank has already

endorsed him. >> very happy about it. >> fantastic. coming up, we're going to talk to the chair of the senate budget committee, also senator tom coburn. bill karins with the check on the forecast. bill? >> well, good morning to you, mika, interesting forecast as we head toward the weekend. but first things first, let's get to today, we have rain heading through areas of the ohio valley, soon that'll arrive in many areas of the east. bring the umbrella with you today, anywhere on the eastern sea board, including areas especially around virginia and in through the carolinas. now, we also have a little bit of sleet being reported in pennsylvania. shouldn't add up to too many problems on the roads. that wet weather will be arri arriving in d.c. pretty much cloudy, dreary, but at least it's warm enough. middle of the country, you're dry today.

and tomorrow, looks like a quiet friday on the weather maps, rainy in texas. the biggest story will be what will happen this upcoming weekend. on sunday, a storm moving through the southeast with rain. and a little bit of that moisture will clip the mid-atlantic. but it still appears too warm. does not look like a snowstorm at this point. looks like another rain event. here we go, no snow. "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] at home, you play a lot of roles.

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before entering politics, ron paul appeared in over 50 westerns. >> this is an outrage. >> this has been get to know the candidates. >> oh, my goodness.

>> that was funny. >> 20 past the hour. time now to take a look at the morning papers. from our parade of papers, the advocate, the last fema trailer has left new orleans. more than 23,000 of them were used in the storm's aftermath in new orleans. many of them were later suspected of having toxic materials. and long after the u.s. said yes, canada changed its position and would allow a guy from florida to tight rope walk across niagara falls. >> okay, sure. a motion was passed to assure this kind of stunt happens once every 20 years. i don't know. >> glad we brought that to our audience. >> yeah, that was -- that's definitely -- >> i wouldn't make the cut. >> i was hoping for a second. if it was news about canada, we were going to invade, take their

oil -- >> working on that. >> are we? good. >> me and my neo con friends. >> by the way, we get a lot of fans in vancouver. when you went to vancouver, willie. >> what if he falls off? >> it's huge. >> we're on at 3:00 a.m. there. >> people watch. i'm telling you, the good people of -- we always say, vancouver people are the best people in the world. >> that's right. that's right. i'll have to visit there some time. >> let's go to d.c. >> that's a good city, by the way. >> make it stop. >> my favorite city in the world. >> jim vandehei's here. >> he's from vancouver. >> good morning, my man. >> how are you doing? >> we're doing all right. you've got this screaming headline about a rubio/obama duel of some kind. >> excuse me? >> president obama asking the question, is rubio ready to be vice president? what's going on here? >> it's sort of the dream

headline that republicans wanted as far as who their nominee might be. but it's the foreign policy fight between rubio and the senate and the president. it started with a speech last year where rubio really went after the president in both afghanistan and iraq and asking for a tougher line in both countries and accusing the president of playing politics. and then there's been this fight that's been brewing for months between rubio and the white house over policy towards cuba, including rubio using some of the levers of power in the senate to try to block ans ambassad ambassadorial pick. and the white house feels like this is him posturing. they feel him trying to give himself a national profile. they think he's on the short list like everyone else does to be vice president. so they're happy to spill the beans behind the scenes on what they think have been some missteps by rubio and we have lots of senators talking about it, lots of folks in the white house and rubio defending

himself. >> jim -- >> i still don't know what this story's about. jim just talked for five minutes. >> what did he do? >> and seriously, what's the headline here? >> the duel on diplomacy. >> and where you have rubio trying to take a fight to obama on all three issues. >> has it helped rubio? >> i don't know. i think rubio helps himself whenever he gets the national stage. i think that speech last year when he talked about afghanistan and iraq has definitely helped rubio. i don't think rubio actually wants to be vice president. whereas i think mcdonnell, christie would love to be the pick. and he needs to use the senate to really get his footing for playing on a national stage. it'll take longer. >> do you sense that marco, this person i like him very much. i like him an awful lot.

he's a great speaker of the house in florida, excited he's my senator. but does he -- does he have a sense that he's not ready to be vice president yet? >> you get that sense that he understands it? >> i get the sense that's not what he wants. i don't know if he thinks he's not ready. i think he thinks eventually he'll be ready to run for the big office in 2016 and beyond and understand sort of i think the dangers of being a number two particularly in this environment of uncertainty for the republican party. i also think there's an advantage. i mean, one of the things -- the younger senators are learning from president obama is that he really had a rough transition into the presidency. i think even his democratic critics would agree with that. largely because he didn't have that much experience running anything and that much experience at the national stage. and so rubio's watching him, similar age, similar profile, similar sort of electric personality inside of the party and trying to figure out what are the best parts for himself. and that's why you've seen a slow rollout for rubio where

each quarter of the year seems like he's taking on a bigger national profile. >> jim, real quick before we let you go, if it's not marco rubio, let's say for argument's sake mitt romney's the nominee, where does he go for vice president? >> the guy has such a track record for playing it safe and surrounding himself with people that are similar to him. i would say mcdonnell, number one, would be the most likely pick for virginia. number two, rob portman if he wants to play it safe from ohio, the leadership in the house and the senate. somebody who is trusted, who has been vetted would be the very safe pick. the question is whether or not if it's romney or santorum, whoever the nominee, whether they need to do something to broaden the republican party away from being a mostly white male party. so they go with a female republican or minority. >> doesn't romney have to go with santorum? >> i don't know. i don't know. i personally want to win new jersey. >> that's not going to happen. >> get the good governor in the

race. what's not going to happen? chris christie? >> it's not going to happen. >> why not? >> because chris wouldn't do it or mitt wouldn't pick him? >> i don't think he'd do it. that's my gut. >> oh, he'd do it. >> no. >> jim vandehei. >> he's not that needy. >> but you know. come on. >> coming up, two endorsements every republican presidential candidate wants this year, one is from jeb bush, the other is from the lead singer of megadeath. >> what? >> you did that in reverse order. >> we have that announcement for you this morning. that guy has rallied behind one candidate and one candidate only. and next in sports, the lin-sanity continues in new york. another night -- >> this is a huge story. >> unbelievable for jeremy lin and the knicks. >> unbelievable. so, this is delicious

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all right. time for some sports. it's a beautiful picture right there. from the top of the rock, 6:36 in the morning. we've reached an important point

in the jeremy lin story. >> yeah? >> the "new york post" has run out of puns. >> oh, no. >> look at the back page today, "dish upon a star." no lin in that, no lin-sanity, nothing like it. that means this has gone on for a long time. as you know, they're the best in the business at the post at that sort of thing. as evidenced by the cover of "sports illustrated" this week, a guy you never heard of two weeks ago rarely makes it on the cover of "si." the knicks are undefeated since jeremy lin earned the position of point guard. last night at the garden taking on the kings, arena full of fans. on the court, lin making his presence felt. not scoring, though, last night, dishing the ball, later in the first, draws the defenders, getting into the lane. knicks up eight, off the pick

and roll, to tyson chandler, few minutes later, lin to chandler again, knicks up 18 at the half, they win 100-85, jeremy lin had ten points but a career high 13 assists. seven knicks players finished in double digits scoring. one player who has been absent during this winning streak, he's been injured star forward carmelo anthony seen chatting with lin during the game. a lot of people wondering what happens when carmelo anthony comes back? he was on espn yesterday talking about just that. >> if carmelo anthony is on the floor with jeremy lin, who's taking the last shot in that game? how does carmelo anthony answer a question like that? >> of course i want to take the last shot. let's be quite frank. i've been doing it for nine years already. i made a ton of them. >> if people say carmelo anthony is a selfish player -- >> that's like a slap in the face. never been a selfish player,

none of my teammates i've ever played have said i was a selfish player. >> it helps him. it helps everybody. >> you have a point guard -- getting carmelo the ball up the floor, rebound and do everything. >> he can drive into the lane. dish it out. makes as richard said, makes everybody better. >> he didn't have to score. just ten points. >> kind of like me. >> you don't have to score, you're happy to make -- >> i just want to make everybody better. by the way, can i say -- crazy, i love him. >> crazy good. >> crazy good. you listen to him on the radio. i was listening in the radio, driving around, i had to pull over to the side. talking about tebow, he's great! he's out of his mind great. >> give him an issue. >> the outrage. >> oh, he's the best. let me tell you, man, let me tell you about what.

no, he is the best and he'll do it for 40 minutes. >> whatever it is. >> who told us that we have to drink water? i don't like water. >> we'll be right back with dr. howard dean and mika's must-read -- >> i always agree with howard dean on "morning joe."

all right. welcome back. >> we're here. >> now we've got the governor of vermont. the former chairman of the democratic national committee, howard dean. so howard, do you want to continue the conversation? >> sure. >> we're talking about mitt romney's people. and of course we don't know this, but we know this. leaking all this santorum stuff. they're very good.

you see in the "washington post," "time" magazine, leaking all over the place about his wife suing doctors for over $500,000. this is -- this is what they're good at. >> here's the thing that perplexes me about the campaign. one guy who has a terrific team, incredibly well-organized, all 50 states is mitt romney. the other guys basically have very little money, what is going on here that this revolution in the republican party that the voters -- with people no one whatsoever, they flock from one to the other to the other to the other because they don't want to nominate mitt romney. i'm scratching my head, what is going on? >> you know, actually i think what's going on, i think i'm a slow guy, but i think i'm slowly but surely figuring this out. all the good guys that could unify, good political stars that could unify the party -- don't shoot me -- i'm only the piano

player. most of them told me privately one-on-one, they're scared to get out there. because they're afraid their own base is going to call them left wingers, moderates, squishes. i mean we know that -- like jeb bush, for instance, when jeb ran in '94 and '98, he was considered right wing, now he'd be considered a moderate. >> almost moderate. >> too moderate to win the nomination. i think that's part of it. >> yeah, i don't think -- my guess is that jeb didn't do it for personal reasons partly because his brother's numbers weren't so great when he left. and he's got family stuff he's working on and he's a good guy, jeb bush. i've gotten to know him. >> good guy. >> thoughtful guy. >> a great candidate. >> today he would be a great candidate because i think he probably would pull the party -- >> and by the way, he's got a moderate temperament as you know, very conservative, but he's got a moderate temperament

and nobody would be talking about the "crazy republican party" right now. >> before the break you said you thought we were easy on santorum? >> i thought you were easy on santorum. maybe the birth control -- >> has he ever voted to ban birth control? >> not that i know of. >> anything on record that said he would do something extreme. >> hold on, mika, you've got to stop interrupting. >> i'm sorry, i keep forgetting. >> she gets to talk here, i'm always on mika's side. >> i think it's an interesting conversation. my twitter feed is exploding, so you're not the only one who had the same reaction. >> here's the deal, it is probably true because i don't know any of the thousands of votes he took. it's probably true he never voted to ban contraception, but he has voted and said a lot of incredibly intolerant things. particularly about gay people, particularly about -- >> that's a problem. >> yeah, that's a problem. >> particularly on the abortion issue. he does, in fact, vote his -- vote for things like ultra

sounds for -- >> an issue that virginia's dealing with right now. >> we did a focus group in 2008 when obama was running and did it in western pennsylvania with pro-life women. and obama -- i mean, mccain had said something like we shouldn't pay for -- it was against paying for contraception but for paying for viagra. that comes out in the pro-life focus group. and these pro-life women go this guy's totally out of touch. they all had teenage daughters and whatever they thought about abortion and all that they did not want their teenage daughters getting pregnant. and people in america are very practical people across the political spectrum. very conservative woman want their kids, their daughters -- there are very few of them who think -- who don't want to -- >> it's not just teenage daughters. >> no, it's not. >> your personal experiences, but people have sex even when they're married. >> that's right. that's right. >> mike barnicle -- >> you're kidding.

>> it's what i'm told. no, but it does -- >> what research does this come from? >> i ready a book once. >> they do. >> they told me they do. yeah, so it strikes me -- it's not just teenage, it's adults. >> again, most americans don't think sexuality is the business of the church, any church. they don't believe -- they believe it's their own business and not the business of the church. they don't think it's the business of the government either. and rick santorum does think it's the business of the government and i think that's a big problem for most americans. >> is there any way imaginable that you could calculate the damage that the republican party has done to itself over the last six to eight weeks with the various emergence of different candidates? and now with this issue coming to the forefront at a time in this country when there's 8%, 9%, 10% unemployment. people are not talking about it. >> i'm actually nervous about santorum. i've always been most nervous about romney.

well-organized, good looking, et cetera, et cetera -- the problem is with santorum, you don't know because he can connect with people. and mitt romney's having trouble. >> explain this some more. because i remember a speech you gave in tallahassee several years ago, and you went down to tallahassee despite your own personal views and said we're no longer going to give up the issues of god and guns and life that we democrats can have socially conservative candidates too in all 50 states. explain to people let's say manhattan or washington that might not understand rick santorum's appeal west of the hudson river. >> it's not so much his appeal, it's very -- because he is very, very conservative. >> right. >> but he has an ability to be an ordinary person. i think the blue-collar, white voter, which we have trouble with and obama has trouble with, is drawn to santorum, not

because they're as conservative as he is, because they're not as conservative as he is, but he's one of them. >> and can relate to them. >> and they connect with him and it's hard to connect with romney. >> and he has a charm to him that romney does not have. >> he does. i don't think santorum is an easy guy to knock out of the box. you've got to beat the hell out of him. and that's what romney's going to try to do. up next, news you can't use. willie teams up with lil kim on "watch what happens live." we're back 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.

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oh, is it time? >> it's time. >> we need some -- >> big megadeath fan, mika? >> yes. >> megadeath. >> a lot of people have been waiting for the endorsement from the lead singer of megadeath. a romney guy. >> megadeath? >> the front man dave mustane has spoken. and the man we've been talking about rick santorum has the vote of that guy. in an interview with musicradar.com, the former metallica rocker, he said he

admired rick santorum's decision to return home to his sick child. he said santorum has "presidential qualities." the lead singer of megadeath. >> you see how much that helps in the republican primary. >> other celebrities, gene simmons of kiss is behind mitt romney. >> kelly clarkson and barry manilow both behind ron paul. >> barry manilow? another reason to love him. by the way, he's coming to radio city. we've got to get him on this show. >> march. >> i'm not ashamed to say, i love barry manilow. you know he actually played bathhouses in new york. >> what? >> he would sing and he played the piano. early '70s, man. >> back houses in new york? >> that's what casey casem told me in '74. >> and his new hit --

one endorsement that didn't quite pan out, wayne newton. remember this? >> how proud i was of this lady. >> good luck to both of you. >> thank you. >> thank you for allowing me -- >> thank you. thank you. >> whoa. don't do that, wayne. >> wayne newton -- come on, he was focused on those lips. >> she tried to pull away. she's a bright lady. >> willie, you look a little tired. are you okay? >> just didn't move fast enough. >> haggard. you look like a little pale. >> no, last night i was on "watch what happens live" with my good friend andy cowen. he's going to be on this show this morning. >> really? >> he's got this game called "plead the fifth" where he gives you three questions you may plead the fifth on one of them. you can choose the one you don't

want to answer. >> wow. >> here's the first one. >> willie geist, who is smarter? joe or mika? >> mika. >> willie geist, tell us one embarrassing thing about brian williams that might annoy him. >> smells like bologna. >> willie geist, who is the hottest female politician right now? >> the hottest. i still have a fifth, don't i? >> yeah. >> go for it. >> let's go with -- go off the grid a little bit, south carolina governor nikki haley. >> he didn't plead the fifth, everybody. willie don't care. >> didn't need the fifth. >> my goodness. >> and we close out the show -- ever seen a shot ski. it's a ski with shot glasses.

andy on the left, lil kim in the middle wearing my jeremy lin t-shirt. do you have that photograph of lil kim for reference for me. there she is. >> so now we know where she gets her name. petite. >> very petite. jeff greenfield -- >> we need to see him in that outfit. >> we'll be right back. uh oh. should we be letting him p-l-a-y with our t-a-b-l-e-t? [ mom ] i think it's fine. it's the new element from at&t so it's w-a-t-e-r proof. cool. what else does it d-o? it's fast. it's 4g lte. 4-g-l-t-e?

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♪ the guy i feel worse for is romney. >> mitt? >> well, not just for that. because he's the guy you know is like considers himself next in line. the guy at the deli who is like, i'm number six. but they don't like him. the voters. >> yes. >> and he's like -- because he wants to be a regular guy but he can't be himself. he puts on jeans but you know he's got his suit pants underneath it. >> right. >> he's in a bar and he's like, sure, i used to hang out in this bar. give me one of those malted hop drinks. nothing is authentic. i realize rick santorum is the guy mitt romney's pretending to

be. so now they're up against each other in these debates and it just -- there's a certain inauthentic quality. >> he reminds me of the guy that you see on the package of underpants. that's -- you and i look at these two different ways. >> never thought about that. >> welcome back to "morning joe." that was very interesting. mike barnicle and howard dean still with us. joining the table now political analyst and anchor of pbs's "need to know," the author of "then everything changed." now out in paperback. >> jeff, great to have you here. >> thanks for having me. glad you like the book. >> we love it. straight to the news. >> what did you think of jon stewart's interpretation of mitt romney? >> i absolutely loved it. thought it was hilarious and, like as we said earlier -- >> honey bear. >> romney is like the honey

bear. he doesn't bend, he just goes like this. show, actually, show jeff greenfield this clip. and notice that he's on a swivel, mitt romney. he goes, oh, there's a friend from high school. oh, i think i dated you. >> oh, god. >> no, he swivels around. >> let's show it again. >> it's sort of awkward, but it's mean what you're saying. >> do you know who would describe this of another politician? when norman maler wrote about richard nixon, he said it was like an anmatromic. >> turn up the sound and let's listen to mitt. >> grand rapids, i'm so honored to be here. i want to talk about what we're going to be doing over the next few years to get michigan working. oh, there's another guy from my high school and a gal from -- there's a lot of high schoolers here and i'm just -- this does bring back memories. any old girlfriends here?

oh, have to be careful. anne's not here today. don't tell. >> oh, come on. joe, put that down. >> so anyway -- >> he's on a lazy susan. so the republicans find themselves, jeff, in a fascinating position right now. the guy that as howard said is organizing 50 states, he's got the money, he's probably going to win is just not beloved. >> this is the famous story about why the dog food's not moving and the ad agency hires the best screen writers and can designers and motivational research. maybe the dogs don't like it. >> exactly. >> and you have this amazing phenomenon where no one can figure out who can win this thing beside romney. and in ordinary political stuff you can't figure out how he could win either. you know, if he wins and it's a

triumph only of organization and money. i'm winning because i'm outspending the guy 10 to 1 and he doesn't have a pollster. how do you go to the general public in the fall and say here's our nominee, our own party didn't want him, but we had no choice. >> well, their attitude right now is we may not be loved, but we've got the most organization, we've got the most muscle. in fact, some of the higher ups in the campaign are comparing it to gerald ford in 1976. they didn't love us, but they ended up electing us. >> well, exactly at the convention. >> i wouldn't make the '76 ford analogy myself. on the other side of things, mika, let's get to news. we start with the headline of the "usa today" about how barack obama is beating republicans in the money chase. raising more money again than the republicans, and mika, the president right now seems to be taking a victory lap. >> a lot could happen, of course, and we've seen that happen before, but new poll numbers suggest he's in a very

comfortable position, gaining traction in ten key battleground states including florida, pennsylvania, and virginia. taken as a whole, these numbers show that president obama tops all four republican presidential candidates in those swing states. new polling shows on average the president leads mitt romney by eight points. the president leads rick santorum and ron paul by double digits and newt gingrich trails the president by 20 points. but when you look at ohio separately, the two republican front runners come out on top. president obama falls six points behind romney and three points behind santorum. and -- go ahead. >> no, i was just going to say, and jeff, you look at ohio. let's stop at ohio for a second. obviously over the past eight years, ohio and florida have been the two swing states. they matter the most. the president's been sitting in the low 40s in both of those states. at least for a year, year and a half. and yet he's scratching and

clawing and, you know, one republican mistake after another is putting him back in the game. >> yeah, but you know, if we have learned anything in the last three months, it's entirely possible we haven't given the propensity at people to jump at the last number. it's if those unemployment numbers go up as some people think they might in the fall, all these current notions, obama on a roll get instantly replaced. and we've seen this so quickly. people jump to conclusions i think now in hours rather than days or weeks of generations past. it is true that ohio except for 1960 is the bell weather state. but then you look at the west where obama made inroads last time. and anybody who sits there who says if you don't win ohio you can't win the presidency is also making a mistake. there aren't enough rules to make these grand pronouncements. if the democrats think -- if

obama's on a victory lap, it's way too soon. >> oh, no doubt about it. >> but we don't have to wait very long to figure out what's going to happen in michigan. if santorum beats romney in michigan, this is going to go a very long way deep into the convention season. >> how bad is that for republicans? >> it's not great. it was hillary and obama, i don't think -- it was almost good for the party, especially for obama because he was more and more exposed and people liked what they saw. but generally speaking long drawn out primary fights are not a great thing, especially when it was mean-spirited, this one. i've never seen -- i thought the democrats were bad, i have no to complain about when i ran in iowa after i see what's going on in this republican primary. i can't believe it. >> and mike, we're going to go through, i think, more stages in this republican nomination fight. right now you've got santorum on top and the anti-mitt faction. we heard that newt's money man

out of las vegas is going to start writing checks to take down santorum. so newt's going to be in a stronger position. this -- i think this journey's going to continue all the way to tampa. and that's just not good for the eventual republican nominee, not good for the republican brand, not good for republican senatorial candidates, not good for anyone in the party. >> not to run it into the ground, but to run it into the ground -- >> let's run it into the ground. >> they have done damage over the brands over the last two months. first gingrich and herman cain and donald trump and now the back and forth between santorum and romney. but at the conclusion of all of that, it's the pace of events that are going to dictate who the next president of the united states is going to be. just two weeks ago, we had the startling good news, the jobless numbers. >> right. >> would -- >> 8 -- >> two weeks from now, you could get a stunning negative number

and the whole thing shifts back again. >> yeah. take it easy. governor of michigan -- >> yeah? >> endorsed romney today. >> okay. >> they're going to pull out all the stops. santorum will be outspent -- romney has to win michigan. if he doesn't, he's in for a long, unpleasant fight. >> that's an important race. >> there aren't enough rules to break, but if you had to pick one figure to look at, let's say in october, would it not be the unemployment rate? if it's north of nine, republicans win. if it's south of 8.5%, obama wins? >> those numbers not unlike ice melts at 32 degrees. i would look at right track, wrong track numbers more than anything else. if they're trending more positively, that tells you more about an incumbent president almost more than anything else. >> what about this number? the other day. it happened to me the other day, sunday afternoon, gas in the car, i glance up, the gas is

going to hit $3.99? >> that doesn't help. >> $4.99? what if $4.99. >> gas prices have exploded over the past three years for a thousand different reasons. you can't pin that on anybody. >> this is probably the strait of hormuz is some of this and the winter formulation to the summer formulation, which is more expensive because of less polluting and so forth. the number -- >> you put on the screen -- >> i define that as getting down in the weeds. if you're talking about the winter formulation, the chemi l chemical -- >> i think it's fascinating how -- >> put together of gasoline. >> you're welcome. >> actually, you forget that song about romney sunday night, the environmental song of the year. >> that's right. >> so let's -- i want to talk

about your book for a second. >> why not? >> we don't usually talk about it in the first block, but it's a fascinating book. first of all, give everybody the premise. >> three things that almost happened in recent american history and in fictional narrative terms saying what if it happened? what if john kennedy had been killed by a suicide bomber in palm beach, florida, in 1960 as president-elect? nobody knows that. >> explain that. it's one of the things that stunned me when i read this book. >> an anti-catholic deranged guy parked in a car loaded with dynamite, secret service takes no notice of him, he's going to kill kennedy as he leaves his house on a sunday on the way to church, misses kennedy comes to the door and say good-bye and he said i can't do this in front of the wife and carolyn. all i do is not have her come to the door, kennedy is killed before he's president and then i take lyndon johnson through -- up through the cuban missile

crisis and through a lot of interviews and say given what lyndon johnson thought about foreign policy and his fear of emasculation and not being tough, the cuban missile crisis doesn't end the same way as it did. i had to do robert kennedy surviving because i worked for the guy and take him through part of the presidency -- >> explain what happens if bobby wins -- >> well, in my notion and i think this is true, had he survived an assassination attempt, the whole dynamic of the race changes. it's like what happened to reagan after he survived his real assassination. people said, my god, we almost lost this guy. and a convention fight overrules -- >> i'm assuming nixon does not win the presidency. >> well, that's right. it's very close because, in fact, lyndon johnson in real life kind of thought nixon should be president instead of humphrey. so with bobby as the nominee, lyndon johnson would've done everything possible to stop him, put him in the white house and just to be fair, i'd create a

watergate incident involving one of robert kennedy's most zealous -- >> fascinating. >> yeah. >> fully capable -- and there's a lot of fun in it because for people like us, you know, there's no james bond phenomenon because that was john kennedy. bobby ends the vietnam war, so m.a.s.h. is a flop as a movie because no one wants to see that. whenever we talk about these things, you make the point, look how close things that happened totally change the political dynamic. >> steven king was on after you were here and told a similar story. again, the attempted assassination attempt in 1960. and you had instead of mrs. kennedy coming to the door, you had the housekeeper coming to the door saying she's staying in bed with the baby who is still asleep. and people don't realize that

was the difference between john kennedy being assassinated in 1960 and 1963. but steven king was here and he was talking about the night before, oswald assassinated kennedy. he went back to his wife one last time and tried to get back together with her. she turned her back to him and the next morning he took off his wedding ring, picked up the rifle and went to the book depository and as steven king said. our entire history as a nation was changed by that one decision of a wife that night. and this is how history -- >> look at stuff all the time. what's not in this book, 1933, goes to miami's bay front park, wants to kill president-elect roosevelt, gets there a little late, has to stand on a chair. he's jostled, kills the mayor of chicago by mistake. if he gets to the park five

minutes -- >> that's the sort of thing that makes this show so special. false insights. >> no, but imagine somebody wrestles him down. >> imagine 1933 america and then you have this crusty texas conservative instead of fdr. you can't begin to imagine that -- i was talking to governor dean a minute ago, florida in 2008 had not moved its primary, hillary clinton would've destroyed obama in that primary and most likely would have been the nominee of the party. >> and michigan was also good for hillary. >> yeah. >> you don't know. >> that's amazing. all right. still ahead, harold ford jr. joins us here on the set. plus "time" magazine's rick stengel joins the conversation. up next, republican senators tom coburn and richard burr weigh in on these payroll tax cuts. >> they are trouble. >> they are, you can tell. you can just tell.

>> i was going to ask him to sing silver and gold -- >> i think he looks handsome. >> he does. >> we'll talk to them coming up. >> come on -- >> we're going to get him on too. we'll be right back. let's go to bill karins with the check on the forecast. bill? >> good morning, everyone, we are looking at wet weather headed for the east coast today, possibly a little bit of airport delays a little later today because of low visibility. we are watching that rain through ohio, pennsylvania, also some rain showers down there in georgia. we had a little bit of sleet reported in pennsylvania, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue as warm air is surging to the north. temperatures today just like yesterday, there won't be any sunshine, but it will be mild. temperatures in the 40s. d.c. could get to the 50s. the southeast, same story for you, middle of the country looks okay. we are actually warming it up in southern california. today l.a. around 71, but rain in the northwest. a sneak peek at friday's forecast, looks like heavy rain is beginning in texas. there's a chance for an east coast storm on sunday. looks like it's going to be

mostly to the southeast and heavy rain doesn't look like any snow from this next storm either. that's been the trend all winter. no reason it's going to stop now. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. the employee of the month is... spark card from capital one. spark cash gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. it's hard for my crew to keep up with 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. 2% cash back. that's setting the bar pretty high. thanks to spark, owning my own business has never been more rewarding. [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? this guy's amazing.

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we're still recovering from one of the worst economic crises in three generations. and i'm not going to lie to you guys. you know it, we've got a long way to go before everyone who wants a job can find it. i'm sure that if we traveled all around here there are a lot of folks who want work and can't find it. this has been hard on folks. it's been hard on our country. and it's going to take some time before middle class americans regain the sense of security

that's been slipping inping awa before this recession hit. >> welcome back at 23 past the hour, a live look at capitol hill. and joining us now from capitol hill, oklahoma senator tom coburn with a new look this morning. >> i'm very distressed. >> yes, why? >> well, he shaved his beard. >> well, he looks good. he must have lost a bet or something. and north carolina senator richard burr joins us this morning. >> guys, thank you so much for being here. always great to see you. tom, we start with a tough question. why did you shave the beard? >> oh, yeah. >> it started taking longer to care for the beard than it did not to shave and the whole purpose for the beard was saving time. >> when you started braiding ii, mika and i grew concerned. let's talk about medicare, guys. we got into a dust-up onset yesterday or the day before. i say we, i did.

>> they had the senior choice act. >> i was suggesting that medicare and medicaid was going to cause the biggest danger to this country as far as deficits go over the next 30 years or so. tom coburn, let me start with you, you've studied it, you've got a new bill out. tell me what you know about medicare. what's the cost curve over the next 30 years? >> well, joe, i'm not sure i can answer it over 30 years. the unsustainable portion of it is now in excess of $43 billion, and that's a conservative estimate. the second point is the trust fund for part "a" probably is looking at being out of money some time between 2017 and 2018 even though the official is 2022. the worst-case is 2014. we're in the worst case right now. so the question really is do we have a moral obligation to ensure that a health care is provided to seniors in the future? and do we have a moral

obligation to make sure our kids' future is not totally jeopardized by keeping that commitment? and richard and i think we've got a good combination, a lot of ideas from a lot of places that will actually come forward and meet that requirement of keeping our word to seniors and at the same time taking some of the waste and inefficiency and low quality out of medicare. >> so richard, what do you guys do with this act? to strengthen medicare? >> well, very simply, joe, what we do is we create choice for seniors. and we create transparency in the system. you know, it's interesting that nobody in washington in the executive branch of the congress or the government questions whether the figures that tom pointed to are accurate or not. saying part "a" is going bankrupt, the congressional budget office says medicare is going bankrupt. but nobody in washington's doing anything. and i think tom and i believed

that we had a moral obligation to save medicare for our parents and for our children. and to provide seniors choice in the system so they can have a cheaper health care system, less expensive i might say, but with a better health outcome. now, some say we can't do it, we're willing to float it out there and try it. >> so, dr. coburn, dr. dean is in the house. and i apologize for that in advance. dr. dean -- >> you apologize for me being in the house? thanks a lot. >> i'm joking. i love you. here's my concern about this, i agree that medicare is in bad financial shape and somebody needs to do something about it. but this looks a little to me like the paul ryan plan which essentially shifted the financial risk from the government to the seniors. and you can talk about premium support, but of course when premium support gets also runs into financial trouble, somebody ends up holding the bag for the three times the rate of inflation that medicine has gone up at for the last 30 years.

so why is this not just essentially a version of the ryan plan where the seniors end up picking up the tab? >> well, it's a couple of reasons why it's not one. we make traditional fee for service medicare compete for everything that's out there. that's number one. number two is you get to decide what is for you. number three is premiums are going to go up. nobody denies that. we're all going to share a larger amount, either in medicare taxes or in our deductibles or in our co-pays. that's all going to change, nobody can look at medicare and say it's not. and to deny that's not going to happen. so how do you do it in a way that markedly improves outcome and lowers the cost? dr. dean knows 1 out of every $3 we're spending doesn't help anybody get well, keep them from getting sick. and one of the reasons this will work is because it's working in medicare part "d" today, and it can work better, but it's

certainly better than what we're doing today. >> jeff greenfield? >> senators, as we enter the heated season of a presidential election, is there any chance that you can get anything like bipartisan backing for your plan? >> well, jeff, we're at least going to try. and we understand the politics of an election year. we understand how difficult medicare is as an issue, but we're convinced that if we can take good ideas, good solutions to our colleagues and more importantly inform the american people about them that there's a real chance that we could find the bipartisan support needed to cross the goal line with an issue like this. much of our proposal has certain points in it that are already bipartisan proposals on medicare and we start with a position of strength for people who are committed to medicare reform. but we also know this is not

going to be easy, especially in an election year. >> back to jeff, one of the key questions is why are people upset with congress? you know why is the trust level at such a low level? because the first thing we do is we put a predicate out there and say because it's a political season, you can't fix something. and what i think what the american people are looking for is they'd like some common sense answers that don't have your finger in the air to see which way the politics are rolling, but actually solve some problems and does it in a bipartisan way. and i think that's what richard and i are trying to reach out and do. we hope to do that and we think we've got a good common sense way of actually saving medicare, improving outcomes, and controlling costs. >> mike barnicle? >> senator coburn. for the last four years, nearly the last four years, the country, the senate, the congress has taken a legitimate

interest in finding out what went wrong with our financial services industry in this country and they've taken a long look at the big wall street banks and their role in the financial collapse. what do you think would happen if we took an equally strong look at the role of drug companies and insurance companies in the soaring cost of medicine in this country over the last ten years? >> well, i -- personally from my practice and my experience and practice in medicine, i can tell you some reasons why things are going up. first of all, nobody thinks they're responsible for paying for it. the doctors who are ordering the tests, the doctors doing it and the people that are actually getting the health care. it's always somebody else's bill to pay. well, i can tell you that doesn't work well in any economy. it doesn't work well in any type of government. so we have that underlying driver. the question we ought to say, ask, is how do we take and get

better outcomes for less money when we know a third of what we're spending is being wasted? and so what we're looking at is how do you drive that down and number two is how do you put the other thing we've done is how do you put some security there to know that there's a maximum exposure you're going to have? and that's what we've done by combining the deductibles and putting the maximum any individual would have in an income range that changes the more income you make, the less benefits you get. >> dr. dean? >> quite simply, mike, quite simply, if we don't fix health care and medicare is a start to it, we won't have to worry about high-cost drugs in the future because innovation will be gone, and it's a key part to our inability to actually cure disease, which we realize that the maintenance of disease has become very, very expensive, not just for seniors, but for all americans. >> let me just wrap this up. tom, you said that the payments

to the doctors is in the costs are going up and so on and so forth, why not put all the recipients in a managed care program. that way you pay people to stay well -- or you pay the insurance companies to keep people well and you limit the cost to a predictable increase every year and the truth is, and i don't mean to get too contentious here, but if you think a third of the money is wasted, about 2/3 of that 1/3 is insurance companies that are wasting it. >> dr. dean, that's inaccurate. a third -- i can give you five studies that show 1/5 of that 1/3 is tested or ordered that nobody needs the fact that people are practicing defensive medicine. another 1/5 of that 1/3 are tests that aren't needed but doctors order anyhow because they're not communicating with

their patients or ordering the test to their own benefit. so we -- we know where this money is. but what we don't have is the proper motivation to get the best thing out of the system. the only problem with your idea is it totally takes away somebody's freedom to decide what they want to do rather than just telling them -- us telling them what they will do. and the point is when you have the market economy where you're involved and have skin in the game, all of a sudden consumption goes down. and we know that. >> you know how, mika -- >> very good ideas. >> we'd love to get you and tom on. and let's talk about this for 30 minutes. >> in studio would be great. >> in studio would be great to have you guys on. >> hey, by the way, you know how you know that tom got a better education than mika, when he starts breaking down fractions, 1/5 of 1/3. my teeth start hurting. and he does that and he's like 1/16 of --

>> you said there'd be no math. >> yeah. >> one of the most important things mentioned on this show today is going to be what tom coburn just said. would anybody in america please raise their hand if they know how much their flu shot cost them. nobody knows the cost of anything. they never ask. >> nobody knows nothing. >> tom and richard, it's always great to see you guys. come back. >> good to see y'all. coming up next, congressional republicans of course saying the democrats are being irresponsible by not passing a budget over 1,000 days. we're going to bring in a good friend, chairman of the senate budget committee kent conrad. he's taking issue with that claim.

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well, you know, who would've known that george stephanopoulos -- he asked the questions about contraceptives.

come on, man, it's like law school class and griswold v. connecticut. now this stuff is breaking out all over the place. and virginia, i don't know if you guys know -- >> very controversial story. >> couple of laws. one of them, basically, saying that the rights of a person begins at conception. >> yeah. >> that's one, and that's the law in virginia. and two, all women that are going to have an abortion have to have an ultrasound first. >> that's a real -- that makes a waiting period. >> and critics are saying that extends the waiting period. of course, this is relevant nationally why? because as jim vandehei of "politico" told us earlier, the top choice right now for mitt romney would be bob mcdonnell, the governor of virginia as vice president. we're going to be hearing a lot more about this, aren't we, howard? >> yeah, it's unbelievable that we have an unemployment rate of 8.5% and all people want to talk about is social issues. i think the public is not there.

the public is not there. and none of this -- i think ths is going to scare american women. i really do. >> you look at the polls and on abortion, it's split for the most part down the middle. gay marriage, moving closer, split more closely down the middle. and it seems like when either side overreaches, they pay at the polls. >> i think that's true. i think that was about to happen to president obama. i think one of the interesting reactions to his first proposal, once you got past the, you know, no compromise on anything, with a number of people who don't agree with the church on contraception, catholics who said you know what? you're pushing awfully close to a government order that does impinge on conscience. which is why they pulled back as quickly as they did. one of the things about social issues is that there are people, secular types who i think

underestimate the degree to which some voters will say don't tell me about your five-point health care plan. if you are offending me at the most basic level of what i believe, this argument is over. and it's why so many politicians, i think, will look at a poll and say, well, most americans agree with me on a social issue and they don't measure is intensity. it's gun control is the same kind of issue. most people are for some kind of gun control, but the people who are against it, that's what they'll vote on to the exclusion of almost -- >> it's true. >> i think there's an element here. we have to be very careful about not assuming that just because the economy is, in fact, the overhang, that these issues don't have the capacity to shift critical voters. president bush got reelected in 2004 in my view because gay marriage was on the ballot in ohio. and gave him that 100,000 vote margin by which he won the electoral college. it's another case of we think before we're sure, we know how these play out, wait and watch

how the voters react. >> you never know. >> there's also something you cannot get at in poll numbers, and that is the level of absurdity that many women view these issues as being heard through the prism of guys talking about them or governors, guys, proposing them. the level of absurdity in that. >> i'll tell you one thing, i think that the republicans will not win the governorship after mcdonnell leaves because of stuff like this. the northern virginia people are going to be so turned off by this that i think that they -- >> and he's digging in. >> the republicans have screwed themselves in virginia. i always thought the republicans would win again, but this cements it because it makes the republicans look like extremists and they are. of course he's going to sign it. >> i -- yeah. >> joe, if life begins at conception, what's the voting age? that could change the whole dynamic. voting age by nine months right

there. >> let's talk to rick perry about that because the number moves from week-to-week. >> jeff greenfield, thank you so much. >> thank you, jeff. >> "then everything changed." >> you go on amazon or go to your local independent bookstores and pick this up right now. coming up next, former congressman harold ford jr., also with us rick stengel. "morning joe" is back in a moment. [ male announcer ] we know you don't wait

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named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. welcome back at 46 past the hour. joining us now msnbc political analyst and visiting professor at nyu, former democratic congressman -- >> you're showing me and i am not a visiting professor. >> that's true. him, harold ford junior.

good point. and rick stengel here to reveal the latest issue of "time" magazine. the new cover is -- >> an inside portrait of the most unknown leader of a -- >> this is the littl' kim i kne. >> the 29-year-old and he goes inside this strange world that lil' kim inhabits, he was a basketball fan, he was educated in switzerland and he has become this military ruler of a military autocratic state where people have no freedom and they have 12 to 18 nuclear missiles. >> and he's 29? >> and he's 29. and he was the third son of kim jong-il, and nobody ever thought he was right for leadership. in fact, that's why when he was educated in switzerland he went

to public schools, lived in an apartment building and wasn't privately educated. and yet he probably has more experience of the west than any north korean leader ever in history. and it's a possibility that he could open up the country a little bit and reform it. >> wow. okay. >> and i suspect he's a big jeremy lin fan. >> what's bizarre about his life? >> when you say open up the country and reform it. what does that mean? get it into the mid-20th century? or --? >> well, exactly. >> that's reform. >> that's true. >> and it's a country where everybody is spied on. the espionage services are legion. there's no capitalism whatsoever. it's a throwback to the kind of stalinist states that people imagined in the 1930s and 1940s. so yes, to reform the country,

mike, it would be, take the chinese model which is to try to liberalize the country and keep political control and very, very gradually start giving people a little bit of freedom. >> rick, can i ask you a question? >> yes, sir, joe. >> i saw lil' kim, i love that, i actually love that. why don't you have pictures of like bunny rabbits on the cover of "time" magazine this week. "time" magazine had in their european editions, asian editions, they have pictures of the man who saved europe from a meltdown. >> mario monte who you know well. >> exactly. we actually go skiing in switzerland in the fall. but then the american version of "time" magazine last week was about dogs. why we like dogs. >> no, no, no -- >> animal relationships.

>> science of animal friendships. >> yeah, but see, i'm an american. i don't read, i just see pictures of dog and buy the magazine. people were making fun of -- >> yes. >> but -- jon stewart made fun of us, he's a well-known animal hater. he hates animals. he hates animals. he's just -- he's well-known, the stuff he does to dogs, you can't imagine. >> oh, no. >> no. >> but we were talking about -- >> he defended last night lbj pulling the dog up by the ears. >> mitt romney putting the dog on the -- >> but the bigger point is, though, how do you make those decisions? what are americans going to be interested in? >> well, for example, we have done two mitt romney covers. it's early on in the primaries, i did those just domestically, i didn't do them internationally at international stories. people around the world -- you know, we're the largest news brand around the world and people like content that's

related to where they live. so, for example, this week lil kim is on the cover everywhere, but in fact, in taiwan and hong kong, we have jeremy lin on the cover. >> how funny is that? >> so, again, you know, we give people incredible amounts of information all around the world and then the issues are the same -- >> right. >> the content inside is the same. the story -- the cover in europe might be different but it has all the same stories as the domestic edition. >> you also have the story about rick santorum's role. i've been talking on "time's" website finding clips from last year where he's saying contraception is not right. this is a fascinating guy. >> and i heard you guys talking about that. >> most people didn't expect rick santorum to go mainstream like this. what did you find out about him? >> well, it's interesting, i knew rick when i was living in philadelphia and he was an extraordinarily good senator, great senator for bringing home the bacon.

but this piece by alex altman talks about their strategy. and it's very, very practical. it's the moneyball strategy of winning votes. winning votes on the cheap. where can we go? we don't have much money, where can we go to put points on the score board? and his chief strategist says, look, gingrich's great flaw was he put all of his money on florida and turns out to be, you know, tragic for him. santorum has a more live off the land strategy. and, of course, he's appealing to people who are die hards and they're not going anywhere. >> yeah. >> let me bring you in, harold, you ran statewide in 2006 in tennessee and a very socially conservative state. how does his statement about contraception play among conservative voters in your home state of tennessee? could it effect him down there? >> it could. i take a little different tact. i listened to conversation back

and forth about whether he's too much or not enough or too little. i think if he emerges as the nominee, these comments will come back and he'll have to explain them. but the american people, the american voters have short-term memories. do you remember four weeks ago, six weeks ago, or eight weeks ago about gingrich, santorum, or romney. santorum will have to explain those issues, but more americans are pro-choice, but some sort of restrictions around it. now, santorum takes it to an extreme. i think your points early about religious liberty versus contraception. when it becomes a contraception issue, it's a serious thing. but santorum, his real appeal has been what you said from the outset. the middle class blue collar workers who i think share a lot of his values, but may find some of the outside ideas and some of the things on the social string uncomfortable. and as it relates to women in pennsylvania, michigan, and

ohio, it'll be interesting if he can turn around that horrific loss he had in '06 if he is the nominee, which i doubt he'll be in the long run. >> a couple of lines here, one from mike murphy. romney needs to stop thinking and calculating and get stupid. what's he mean? >> well, he's saying enough with the businessman stuff already. i mean, we get it. we get that, and by the way, he hasn't said what he'd do. let's see what he's like, let's see that personality, that straight shooter. get stupid, get in touch with whatever actually really animates him. why is he running? >> and you have mark haleprin saying republicans are letting their dark imaginations run wild. >> yes, well, joe, what's going on in your dark imagination? >> a brokered convention. >> a brokered convention is what people are talking about. >> okay. >> and what we're all hoping for, of course. >> thank you very much. the new cover is lil' kim inside the bizarre world of north korea. rick stengel, thanks.

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♪ good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast. welcome to "morning joe" as you take a live look at manhattan. back with us onset, we have mike barnicle. . and also richard haass. >> an awful lot to talk about. and we're going to get to your meeting with the next in command in china. >> yeah. >> and get your impressions. i know you guys played handball for a couple of hours.

and i want to sort of download what info you got from him in between sets. >> okay. president obama is on the west coast today ramping up his reelection efforts. stopping in wisconsin before a pair of hollywood fundraisers last night, the president highlighted the resurgence of u.s. manufacturing as a sign of economic success. >> over the last 23 months, businesses have added nearly 3.7 million new jobs. manufacturing is coming back. companies are starting to bring jobs back. the economy is getting stronger. the recovery is speeding up. we're moving in the right direction. and now we have to do everything in our power to keep our foot on the gas. and the last thing we can afford to do is go back to the same policies that got us into this mess. >> new numbers suggest the president is gaining traction in

ten key battlegrounds including florida, pennsylvania, and virginia. taken as a whole, president obama tops all four republican presidential candidates in those swing states. new polling shows on average the president leads mitt romney by eight points in those ten states. the president leads rick santorum and ron paul by double digits, and newt gingrich trails by 20 points. but when you look at ohio separately, the two republican front runners come out on top. president obama falls six points behind romney and three points behind santorum. according to the latest cnn opinion research poll, president obama leads the gop field nationally. the president gets over 50% support against each republican candidate. when asked which social class the top candidates favor, most people said that rick santorum and barack obama are most concerned with the middle class, 32% say barack obama favors the poor, 65% say mitt romney favors the rich.

in case you're asking. >> well, well, that's fascinating. >> why is it fascinating? are you surprised by those numbers? any way, shape, or form? >> no, i'm not. >> okay. >> it's fascinating because the republican party should be in great shape right now. to take on this president. and they're just not. it's fascinating. here we are. he seems to -- he's had a great run since the end of the year when the republicans sort of fumbled the ball. on the tax extension and so it continues. but the republicans just keep shooting themselves in the foot. rick santorum, for instance. he's not shooting himself in the foot, but you can tell the romney people were getting nervous and they started leaking old interviews he made on contraception, on birth control and, you know, when my wife

susan is looking at something, she's very pro-life, she's reading what rick santorum said and she's thinking, he believes what? you know at that point he may be outside the mainstream not of all voters, but of very conservative pro-life voters. >> well, let's get to that story then. shall we? just as the hhs contraception controversy created problems for the obama administration, painting the president as some say insensitive to individuals' rights to religious freedom, republican presidential candidate rick santorum is now being painted as an extremist on social issues after previous comments he made about birth control -- >> do you see this, willie? >> all right. the first remark happened in an interview with cn-8 about six years ago. take a look. >> this is from a personal point of view, from a governmental point of view, i support the title 10, i guess it is and have voted for contraception.

i don't think it works, i think it's harmful to women and our society to have a society that says that, you know, sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or tolerated particularly among the young. and i think it has -- and we've seen very, very harmful long-term consequences to a society. so birth control to me enables that and i don't think it's a healthy thing for our country. >> so he said birth control, contraception was harmful to women, harmful to society. but he says back in 2006, i'm going to separate my personal beliefs with my policy issues. okay. believe what you want to believe. make sure it doesn't affect how you're going to treat americans. then in last year, he gave an interview in iowa and this is what he had to say. >> one of the things i will talk about that no president has talked about before is i think the dangers of contraception.

the whole sexual idea in many in the christian faith have said well, that's okay, contraception is okay. it's not okay. it's a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to what -- how things are supposed to be. supposed to be in marriage and supposed to be for purposes that, appropriate. and that's the perfect way the sexual union should happen. >> so let's go to mike barnicle because mike, a catholic, practicing catholic, and is proof he doesn't believe in contraception, he has like 87 kids. so, mike, we've got to pick this apart. santorum said of birth control, "it's not okay." . sounded like a priest, and that's fine, if you're a priest, that's fine, that's your job to

tell your church. but as "time" magazine stated yesterday online, 99% of women have used contraception in america. and he warns again of the dangers of contraception, and he says it's a license to do unnatural things. i don't know how he gets around that. >> he doesn't. >> and again, the reason i'm talking about this is because when conservative pro-life women in the republican party are concerned about this, this doesn't just lose him independent voters in ohio and michigan, this loses him republican voters in the deep south. joe, we spoke about this yesterday. and it makes you wonder what has happened over the last ten days in american politics if many republicans have chosen to just say, well, women aren't going to be important in next year's election. i mean, it's almost as if

they've made a conscious decision to write off independent women as voters. in this particular two bites, it's a direct reflection on the poll numbers we just showed three minutes ago. he is -- this is seriously out of the mainstream of american thinking. he certainly has his beliefs, i respect his beliefs. >> i respect his beliefs. >> he's entitled to his beliefs. god love him, he holds them clearly, strongly enough to put his entire political future in jeopardy, because that is what this does, that's not in the mainstream. >> and by the way, i respect the heck out of him for what he believes. i have catholic friends who believe the same as him. mika, you're a catholic, i think on social issues -- >> and a woman. >> on social issues you're more conservative, i think, than many. >> yeah. >> what is it -- what do you make of these santorum clips? >> i don't think there's anything wrong with believing that. i really don't. i don't think that means he's going to ban birth control

across the board. those were his personal beliefs and i think as a father and a man who has held public office, he's lived up to them. which makes, it appears, it interesting for the conversation. and there's a conversation probably every family should have about birth control and its role in society with their own kids. he's got his own and he stands by them, and i think he's an interesting part of the national conversation in terms of where our society is going. and there is a lot of risky behavior out there that happens to be connected to birth control. so there's a whole other side of this conversation, and not once did i say should it be banned or should it not be covered by health insurance? but i think it's okay to have those beliefs or concerns. >> but the idea that sex should only be for pro-creation. >> that is the catholic -- >> that's the catholic way. >> that is the catholic way.

>> and you're episcopalian. >> forget being outside the mainstream, that is completely foreign to i would argue 99.9% of americans that you only have sex to create another human being. >> well, now that said, i mean, willie, the church with over 1 billion -- aren't there like 1 billion catholics running around the world right now? >> yeah. >> the official doctrine of the world's largest church is exactly what rick santorum is stating here. >> that's true. but i would -- >> it's not as if he got this from a cult. >> no, i know where he got it and i would defer to our resident catholic here. but i would venture to guess that most catholics don't follow that to the letter of the law. >> one of rick santorum's problems in the context of what he's talking about here is that over the course of the last 15 to 20 years and especially within the last ten years, there's been a widening gap, a schism between the leadership of

the catholic church the cardinals and bishops and various diocese around this country and the parishioners because of their inability to control the pedophilia scandal within the church. they turned a blind eye toward it for too many years and now people have turned a deaf ear. i think mika would agree with me to much of what comes out of the mouths of these ranking bishops and cardinals. >> when you were playing handball with the chinese vice president, you talked about contraception. >> i was going to thank you for keeping me out of the conversation. i was beginning to relax a little bit. i think mika's on to the interesting issue. whether this day in age in politics, whether you can express personal preferences and distinguish that or differentiate from that and policy proposals and whether someone like rick santorum can get away with that, whether that's sustainable. >> and i'll let you continue in a second, be uh just to clarify in the 2006 interview, there was a separation between private

beliefs and public policy. he knocked that wall down in the 2012 interview where he said 2011 interview where he said i'm going to talk about this as president. so i'm sorry. >> you can talk about the president without necessarily banning things. he can say this is what i think is right for america, i think is right for my family, this is what i believe in. so long as he says, i know that others disagree with me and i'm not going to legislate and have executive orders on these things whether that's a sustainable position. and whether people say well, i may disagree with him, but i'm not scared of him so long as he does that. and i would simply say that might be a sustainable position. >> right. he obviously needs to come out and say he's not going to have his attorney general work to try to overturn griswold -- >> but i didn't hearing that in his comments, and i think that's what the problem is that everybody listens to these sound bites and immediately starts, you know, yakking on the air and

echoing each other that he must hate women and hates birth control and wants to ruin our society. no, he personally does not think it's necessarily right for him and he's worried about the impact of giving what he calls a license to a lot of young people because potential risky behavior. these are really important conversations, ones we should have with our children when they're at the right age and those are his beliefs and he lives up to them. i respect that. >> all right. so does the vice president of china. so talk about your meeting, richard. >> well, i was simply at a lunch with the -- >> yeah, but when you all went out and played a round of golf. >> no, let's move on to the issue of china. >> what's your take? >> i'd say -- this relationship. let me take one step back. this was a relationship forged in a different geopolitical context. and the united states and china agreed on one thing, we didn't much like the soviet union. this relationship has to survive the end of that era, the end of the soviet union and now that

china has risen dramatically into something of a competitor. it's major diplomatic challenge. he came over here at a time where he also has to be very careful because he wants to be the next president to china. and while it's likely that happens, it's not 100% sure. he had to come here and handle it very well here because it was playing back home. what he wanted to do was defend traditional chinese positions but not make waves. essentially make a strong pitch for u.s./china cooperation, at the same time he protected what he calls china's core interests, things like taiwan, how they handle their human rights situation, and he came here at a time where u.s. pushed back against china particularly over economic differences, particularly over greater chinese assertiveness and asia was rising. he pulled it off. he spent last night in iowa, his return trip out there, not surprisingly a place major exports to china. but i think essentially he

played it carefully and did not do himself any harm. and all things being equal, nothing happened here that's going to get in the way of his being the next president of china, which from his point of view is probably the single most important part of the trip. >> so -- where is china right now? what is their mind set. of course over here just like we were fearful of japan in the late '80s at a time they were beginning their lost decade. are the chinese insecure? do they believe they're not going to be able to continue the kind of growth that's going to sustain their power structure? >> they're now the world's second largest economy. they're a player, it's a dramatic rise. hundreds of millions of people have come out of poverty, it's an extraordinary accomplishment. on the other hand, to your use your word, they're insecure. worried about the fact their economic model probably isn't sustainable. they can't live by exports alone. they've got to figure out a way to stimulate domestic demand. they watch these protests all

over the middle east. more recently, they have more than 100,000 protests a year in china. so they're worried about what's going to happen at home. they're worried about tibet, taiwan. they're worried about environmental issues. so, yes, the chinese are a funny mixture of confidence. china's rise, this is their moment, and security, because they see all the challenges to their positions in the world and they see in this country a slightly different attitude. essentially china, you've got to play by the rules, got to stop subsidizing these state-owned companies. the currency has to rise more. so they're nervous a little bit about american pushback. >> up next, we'll bring in the chair of the senate budget committee kent conrad to talk about the president's budget proposal. also this hour, watch what happens live, andy cowen will be here onset. >> willie did a great job. >> did you see that? >> i would have done better than

you. and it's lil' kim? >> here's lil bill karen with a check on the forecast. lil bill? >> you like that, mika, huh? they always say terms like that actually means the opposite. so we'll leave it at that. good morning, everyone, we are looking at a possible storm this upcoming weekend. first things first, light rain this morning in many areas of the northeast and also the mid-atlantic down through areas of georgia. it's not going to be too big of a deal. kind of a dreary thursday out there. temperatures not bad in the 40s, clear in the middle of the country. but let's get to the interesting stuff. the possible storm this upcoming weekend. as we fast forward into satur y saturday, rain in the southeast, possibly a nor'easter type storm on sunday. now, typically in february, a nor'easter would mean heavy snow, gusty winds, troublesome forecast, but temperatures are just going to be too warm. this looks like a cold rain for many areas of the mid-atlantic possibly even southern new england. the best chance for snow would

be through the mountains of the appalachians and possibly outside the poconos or the catskills. once again, it does not look like a big snowstorm for a lot of our major cities. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. gomery and abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

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welcome back to "morning joe." you know what we've been talking about how democrats have gone

1,000 days without a budget. let's get answers right now. >> nothing wrong with that. >> let's talk to kent conrad. >> by the way, "rolling stone," my main man paul is on there. >> t.j., do you have the wrong shot there? >> this is the right shot. >> well, i don't see him. >> he's not there. >> maybe he's running late, i don't know. >> he could be at cardinal spring training. >> i was looking for an answer to that question. where's the budget? >> he's looking for the budget. >> wait, there he is. >> excuse me, senator -- >> senator -- that's not him. >> paul mccartney on the cover of "rolling stone," i'm very excited about that. >> can we check one more time? >> let's go back to kent conrad he's there now and we'll figure out why they haven't done a budget. >> that wasn't him. >> no, that's not him. well, harold, we're going to play act and you're going to be the democratic budget chairman now for the morning.

why haven't had the democrats had a budget out in 1,000 -- we'll figure out what happened with kent conrad. he's a good friend of ours, i like kent an awful lot. >> i'm sure he's going to feel that way after the -- >> no -- >> they say he's going to be there. >> that's true. >> are you ever late to a committee meeting? >> no that i can recall. >> did he ever show up to one? >> that's a more germane question here, isn't it? >> how do you define late. >> you know without knowing that i didn't show up all the time. anyway, as i read this paul mccartney article in "rolling stone," why didn't you tell me why the democrats have produced a budget in over 1,000 days? >> hard to explain, i wanted to hear the chairman articulate why. >> don't you want to know? >> in fairness, as you well know, the republicans never did

one either when bush was in office. >> never? >> well, they rarely brought it up. it wasn't 1,000 days, but they had lapses, as well. but there's no excuse. and as our friends in no labels have laid out, some of their ideas for reform, one includes not paying members of congress if they don't complete a budget. and that idea will gain more and more among american people as this issue becomes more prominent in the presidential race. >> has congress just become so dysfunctional that even the congress we work together in the 1990s when everybody said it was just so difficult to be in public office. has it gotten even worse than when you left? >> it probably has. >> why is that? >> here we are in 2012, you read most of the national newspapers and journals and all predict that 2012 that nothing will get done. after the payroll tax deal is done, the american people shouldn't anticipate anything else significant happening from congress. now, can you imagine going to work at any -- with any employer

and i might adhere d here at co we had a jump in profit -- could you imagine saying i'm not going to do any work for the rest of the year and you're going to compensate. in congress, i love the institution, the institution helped me learn a great deal, i was able to work for people as you were back in florida, me in tennessee, but it's embarrassing to find ourselves at this state. and for two presidential candidates to be running on the idea they're going to make it work next year when you can't get anything to work this year. >> it is embarrassing as i continue to read "rolling stone's" paul mccartney article. you're a sports fan, have you ever seen anything like this knicks story? >> it's good it's happening here. no offense to the boston boys a the the table and the boston fans at the table, this guy, three weeks ago, they were talking about cutting him from the team. everything has been said on this show and other shows about how

exciting it is, but i love it. i love the edge he has to him, i love the humility, and more important, i love the fact that he's put the knicks back at .500. >> unbelievable. >> mike? >> yeah? >> can we talk about this problem we've been having, i think you've been pulling your weight over at apple. >> what problem? >> you can't just walk in and get it fixed. when you make a phone that has two pieces of glass that enclose the phone -- >> are you complaining about your iphone? >> yeah, i am. it's the stupidest thing i've ever seen, i'm moving back to the blackberry. to the globe, as apple devices spread, his repair business booms. this guy is part of the expanding mini industry of repairmen working outside the realm of apple whose warranty does not cover damage caused by accident such as liquid contact or broken screens. >> what's your point? >> you must be walking into apple and saying, hey, hey, hey,

i'm mike barnicle, can you fix my screen? but they will not do it -- >> they won't fix your screen? >> you should have purchased a cover for the phone. >> that's right, i spent $600 on a phone and now i need to spend even more money on a cover for it. >> i got mine for free. >> it's the stupidest -- >> how did you end up spending $600 -- >> you didn't spend $600 on the phone. >> you know what? this is ridiculous. this is like -- >> i'm going to take you to the apple store after. we're going to the apple store. >> and you talk to it? are you kidding me, people. i'm going back to the blackberry. >> that's the way it came in the box. >> it came like that. >> i know. i dropped it a foot, 12 inches. >> and we're going to bring this up with him because he worked his way through college by being a repairman at an apple genius bar in st. louis. the host of "watch what happens live" andy cohen, and also the

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♪ willie geist, who is smarter? joe or mika? >> mika. >> willie geist, tell us one

embarrassing thing about brian williams that might annoy him. >> smells like bologna. >> willie geist, who is the hottest female politician? >> i still have a fifth, don't i? >> you do. >> go for it. >> let's go with i'm going to go off the grid a little bit. south carolina governor nikki haley. >> that's good. he didn't plead the fifth, everybody. willie don't care. >> willie, really? get out. are you serious? >> you're not too old to do that show -- >> are you still drunk? >> willie reeks of whiskey. >> looks like he did a great job. >> did a great job. always. >> by the way, my sister-in-law loves you and wants me to tell you that.

okay. here with us now -- >> everybody loves him. >> vice president of original programming and development of bra voe. editor in chief of "parade" magazine maggie murphy. what else happened with willie? >> willie was good. we played pin the pasty on willie with lil kim. the back story is that little kim was on the mtv awards years ago and had two pacies on and dia diana ross -- >> kim was very handsy. i wasn't comfortable with. >> she was. >> wow. >> she was. >> i felt like both of us had a

shot with lil' kim last night. >> you think? that's the first thing she said last night when she sat down, she's in love with mr. cohen. >> it almost happened, jim. >> it did? >> i was holding my breath. >> did you? >> i was watching. >> i bet you were. >> i was saying, magic's going to happen tonight. >> the cover story of the new edition of "parade." >> you can't do the segue. how can you do the segue? is there a segue here between andy? >> yeah. i was trying to make it look natural. >> okay. this is good. >> i'll try it again. this is perfect timing because the cover issue of "parade" -- >> oh, my gosh, it is. they're rich, we're not, and explores why the lives of the so-called 1% are captivating viewers on television. >> i love this. i think it's a great one.

>> it's perfect because andy, you have all of these -- >> housewives of the 1%. >> segue to maggie looking at some of these nighttime soaps. >> the nighttime soaps are back, we have andy cohen to thank for this. the transition from real soap opera stars yet walking around new york city in beverly hills and suddenly network television has realized the soap is worth exploring again. you have revenge on abc -- it's so good. upstairs, downstairs, sideways, awesome. >> really? what happened to "desperate housewives?" >> it's ending its season. >> this is the last season. it's a great run. >> it's been on for a very long time. >> it's had a great run. >> you know, what's really interesting is the last time the

big soap was big was back in the late '70s, early '80s. >> come on, andy. come on. >> listen, i have just finished this book, and i spent all this time looking back at how i went from worshipping those shows and "dynasty" and "all my children" and then today. part of what i love the housewives and why i loved the "housewives of orange county" from the beginning was, wow, this feels like knots landing to me. and i think there's something fun for people at home. it's like guilt-free gossiping. you can sit there and watch and there's something aspirational because you're like, oh, my god, i would like to live on the real housewives of beverly hills and i would like to own -- >> yes. >> exactly, twice a year. >> i don't think i want to live like some of the housewives on the shows. >> well, it depends which

housewife, mika. >> really? tell me one. who would i be? >> who would you be? what housewife would you be. okay. i'm going to say -- >> the one that's sort of the mood kill of the group. >> the buzz kill? >> that's mean. >> that's funny. >> she can't be a housewife. >> parade writes about the series and says this, i love the hand held, but you've got to move out of the prompter. there have been a couple of financial embarrassments off screen. the casts continue to perform like modern day marie antoinettes. they have all that money and they're doing that? says chery lavigne, a bravo executive who oversees the show. the yin-yang experience, and that is, come on, people watch "jersey show" and watch these shows whether they have money or not because it makes them feel

superior to these creeps. >> i think there's something relatable about some people, there's something that they're chuckling at about others, something they feel superior about others. i am agreeing with you, joe. and shari lavigne. >> either because you feel superior or you relate to people. like when i saw lil' kim last night, i said i can relate to her. >> andy cohen, what's your answer? there's this cliche you read almost every day that the "real housewives" are exactly what's wrong with america. and -- >> do we read that? >> and you're bringing about the decline of western civilization. >> i never read that. >> you know it's out there. people say it's bad for america. you say what? >> i don't -- i think it's guilt-free entertainment. i think it's fun. why is the "real housewives" bad for america? >> i don't know. >> i think people are just working out their issues every night. you've got bosses who are tough,

you've got colleagues who are hard on you. you basically don't get to come here and talk it out. work, you're working, if you're a meter maid, teacher, home at night, you want to get away and want to vent. andy's shows, the new soap operas let people release and every single day you guys are talking about class war. well, this is people sort of trying to figure out how to make this work and sort of see parts of their lives, but at the same time relax and get away from what makes life tough these days. >> it's sociology of the rich, i like to say. >> there you go. >> there you go and what's wrong with that? what's next for bravo? >> you didn't like that answer? >> the housewives of orange county, she is a tireless, working lady, she's a tireless working lady, she knows her worth, she is a mom.

>> uh-huh. >> she likes to live hard, work hard, play hard -- >> no -- >> fashion forward. >> no? >> what would you say her weakness is? >> she's not a buzz kill. mika? >> no. >> i'm trying to help you out here. what's next for bravo? >> what's next for bravo? you know what show i'm excited about too, "interior therapy" which is fantastic with jeff lewis. for jeff lewis the guy from "flipping out" goes into homes. it's like a makeover show. he goes in, winds up turning on all of his clients -- >> oh, my god, i love him. >> it actually happens. >> it's a great show. a lot of humor and great home makeovers. there's a show coming up around the world, the biggest show we've ever done on bravo which is kind of amazingly beats "top chef" and it's fantastic. and watch what happens live. every night at 11:00.

>> you have eight nights a week now? >> five nights a week, we've got joan rivers tonight, willie was hilarious. >> it's the most fun you can have on television. >> you're changing the way. >> andy cohen, thank you. >> changing the way people watch tv. >> it is. >> maggie murphy, "parade" magazine. >> i'm not done yet. there's more hyperbole to pass around. let's talk about the cardinals quickly. >> okay. >> you win the world series -- >> yes. >> and then you get rid of your babe ruth. >> yes. >> it's like signing a new contract with bravo and getting fired the next day. >> they have got -- david brees, nobody had heard of the guy a year ago and he ended up mvp of the whole world series, they have to build their talent from within. i think and i was on the show the next day and you were not here, but i think the pujols thing. when you look at the numbers, i

think they did the right thing. and bill wolf had the excellent quote that albert pujols is now the first statesman of applebees because where is anaheim, he says? where is this? >> what an illusion, the st. louis cardinals? >> exactly. maggie, really quickly, what is the band you told andy to listen to? >> fits and the tantrums. awesome, i think they're l.a. based. we like barry manilow too. >> manilow. you know what? i love led zeppelin, the stones, the sex pistols, but i'm not afraid to say i love barry manilow. >> by the way, manilow still golden voice. >> still got it. still got it. here's the split. >> what do you think? >> that's vikki.

that's my girl. woo hoo. >> all right. >> do it. >> woo hoo, we'll be right back. >> all right. "parade" magazine, lifestyles of the rich and treacherous.

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>> the long beard. some guy shoots himself. it's a great band. so anyway, this morning, gm is going to be reporting record profits for last year, but it's not all good news. to get the details, this is all very confusing. >> it is. >> we'll talk to cnbc's phil lebeau outside gm headquarters in detroit with more. is it good news, is it bad news? i'm so confused. >> reporter: well, no, listen, overall, is it good news? yeah, a company making $7.6 billion, a $3 billion improvement over last year, certainly good news. but for general motors, the focus today is on the reporting of losses out of europe. they lost $600 million last quarter in europe. europe is a huge part of the business. right now, look at it this way, gm needs three parts of the business to work, north america, very profitable, china, very profitable, and europe, which is a mess. that's what people are focusing on right now. but make no mistake, $7.6 billion compared to $4.7 billion, compared to losing several billion dollars three years ago, huge improvement in

no doubt the bailouts and the restructuring through the government bankruptcy, that was the key to making things better here in north america. >> how did gm get a lock on china's business? they are doing so well in china. >> right. >> reporter: actually it all goes back to the former ceo rick wagner who is vilified when the company was going into bankruptcy here in the u.s. he was one of the first executives at general motors along with the previous ceo back in the '90s who said we need to get in here because some day this is going to be the world's largest auto market. they were there long before everybody else. >> unbelievable. phil, thank you so much. >> thank you, phil lebeau. before the bell. >> and the political aspect of this obviously great news for the president, supporters of the bailout of detroit. record profits for gm. >> not only did the president and the investment made by former president bush and continued by president obama ensure the survival of gm and

now the continued profitability, it helped as barnicle said on this show many times, the industry in ohio, pennsylvania, and michigan, he's created more jobs as a result, and as much as europe is a challenge and i agree with phil's comments, it goes to show that this global network, this global economic network we live in that all of us are so important, china, i think the u.s. remains the most important, but europe returns, and europe fixing its challenges not only on europe but on american jobs, as well. >> harold, thank you. we'll be right back with more "morning joe." [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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♪ big international news, iran is threatening to stop exporting oil. which means the u.s. may have to tap into its backup reserve, mitt romney's hair. that might happen any day now. yesterday president obama told chinese vice president xi jinping that his country's power comes with increased responsibility. and he was like, you read that off a fortune cookie, didn't you? your lucky number, number nine.

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