"politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. bob mcdonnell speaks and digs himself deeper. for decades, virginia governor bob mcdonnell has been leading the charge in the war on women's right to choose. he literally wrote his thesis on it. 23 years ago. quote, the perverted notion of liberty that each individual should be able to live out his sexual life in any way he chooses without interference from the state. this is a man who believes it is the government's job to interfere in your sexual life which is what makes his cave on the radical mandatory ultrasound bill so surprising. today he's asked about his decision on a political panel

hosted in washington, d.c. >> i didn't think it was proper to mandate invasive ultra sounds. >> did you not -- >> it wasn't my procedure. you have to realize this wasn't my bill. there were 2,000 bills. >> i understand. >> but you learned that this might mandate an invasive procedure? >> during the course of the discussion after talking to lawyers and doctors on my own after we started to hear some concerns raised in the legislature. i personally looked at it. normally a governor would review these hundreds and hundreds of bills when they get to your desk. >> he's throwing everyone under the bus. wow. interesting. he says it wasn't his bill. but he was singing a far different tune last month. >> i actually was the original sponsor of that bill about ten years ago to give a woman the right to know all the information before she makes the choice. an ultrasound is used.

it's modern technology. the costs have been driven down. to be able to have that information before making what most people would say is a very important, serious, life-changing decision, i think is appropriate. he's right. here is the original informed consent bill that was signed into law. and look right there. that's bob mcdonnell, the sponsor. so why the massive backtrack? why did you retreat from the invasive ultrasound this week? >> i also got legal advice from various people, including my attorney general, that these kinds of mandatory invasive requirements might run afoul of fourth amendment laws. >> so all of a sudden, you are worried about unreasonable searches and warrants for women. i'm not buying it. i think it's the fact that more than 1,000 people showing up at the statehouse on monday and then again yesterday and the nonstop media coverage. this wasn't the spotlight the

vice president hoped for bob mcdonnell wanted to get. he's hoping it will all die down now that he's softened the bill. but this new version is still extreme. still mandates an ultrasound, but mcdonnell wants it. >> i support the bill. i still support the bill. i believe that bill will pass. >> and it may pass. that's why we can't back down. joining me now is virginia delegate shawnle herring, democratic majority whip and chair of the state's reproductive rights caucus. and laura bassett. laura bassett is a reporter for the huffington post who has been all over this story writing today about mcdonnell's claim he's didn't realize the ultrasound bill mandated an invasive procedure. thanks to both of you for joining me this evening. >> thank you so much. >> let me start with you. what a week it's really been for

mcdonnell. you've heard him speak today. what do you make of his backtrack? >> he just got caught. i think he thought he could push through this social conservative agenda which is extreme. to suggest that doctors don't inform their patients of procedures and what's best for them is really laughable. he knows barn well what he's doing and he got caught. the sfact that he's been promoting a very extreme social agenda, reaching the hand of government between the doctor and the patient. and he's trying to make doctors the agent of the state to push forth his radical agenda. >> now delegate herring, is it not something close to unbelievable that he had said he would sign the bill, but now he's claiming he didn't know what was in the bill. so either he signs bills or pledges to sign them that he hasn't read or he's just outright lying. one of the two. >> well, it is unbelievable. and let me tell you. we were -- i said on the committee that heard this bill,

and we were provided a graphic pick toral about what the procedure it is. it's an invasive procedure. legislators saw it. i tried to amend the bill in committee and was shut down. so this is all laughable. i think what happened is that we have tens of thousands of protesters and petitions come in and then that's when he realized he had a problem that virginians were saying no. >> now, laura, you've been all over this story in the huffington post. and it seems that if you are going to the governor's background, 1989, his thesis, showed just how extreme he was. let me give another quote. i opened with a quote. here's another quote from his thesis. 1989. every level of government should stat torly and procedurally prefer married couples over cohabitators, homosexuals or foreignicators. man's basic nature is inclined toward evil. and when the exercise of liberty

takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish and deter. that's some strong stuff, laura. >> it's definitely some strong stuff. and it reflects the kinds of laws he's signed in virginia. they passed trap laws recently. they are called trap laws. targeted regulation of abortion providers that essentially regulate abortion clinics so hard that a lot of abortion clinics in virginia are going to have to shut down. personhood legislation was advanced there. of course, the most conservative state in the country, mississippi, voters rejected it there. and so that's, you know, sort of an indicator of how extreme this legislation is. and now, of course, with this ultrasound legislation, he's backing off. i think he's because looking to 2012 and a potential vp ticket with mitt romney. and he received a lot of backlash for this particular

law. but i think his core conservative values are more in line with the quote you just read. >> delegate herring, when you look at the bill he is support, the bill is still there. >> right. >> it's still very extreme because it still -- this bill still requires unnecessary medical procedures even just the -- even though the noninvasive part is out and it requires sonograms to be added to women's medical records. i mean, that's extreme. >> it is very extreme. and again, mandating something. and isn't it ironic he comes from the same party who believes that we shouldn't have health care for every american citizen. but he wants to dictate what goes on in a doctor's office. and mentioning that photograph and what goes into a medical record. a picture of a sonogram. imagine if a woman were raped on the street and becomes pregnant. she then has to carry a picture of the result of the rape in her medical record. very extreme. very out of touch with the mid-america and what americans

want. and they want privacy, not this type of government invasion. >> laura, i think she raises a very interesting point. this is the party that says we don't need big government. government should stay out of people's lives. but it's the same party that wants to dictate people's private sexual habits and sexual behavior. you can't have it both ways. >> you're right. you can't. the republican party has been all over the place on this particular issue. it's really interesting, you know, we have mcdonnell here mandating ultra sounds. ultrasounds were also mandated in texas before an abortion. rick santorum saying he wants to ban prenatal test chicago sing up a situation for a woman saying she wanted to have an abortion wanting to get prenatal testing. what can we mandate and what can we not mandate? it seems like they're having trouble making up their minds.

>> delegate herring you have your hands full because there's any number of anti-choice and anti- in my opinion, people laws. this is the tip of the iceberg. you've got laws in virginia proposing allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples, repeal a law limiting gun purchases to one per month. so you can get all the guns you want. and you have voter i.d. laws, requiring photo i.d. at the poll. so there's a whole litany of very radical right wing laws that you are dealing with in the state of virginia. >> oh, yes. and you are right. a whole litany. that's the other thing. voter suppression. when there is no evidence of, you know, voter fraud in virginia, they put forth these bills. it doesn't matter if it will hurt those who are older. hurt minority communities. hurt students. they just want those people, if they want to go to the polls, and it's all part of a sdeem make sure that they can beat barack obama. so that's what we're dealing

with in virginia. but i can say this. virginians are speaking up. and it's not representative of what they're doing is not representative of middle virginia. >> is it going to pass? >> it may. it very well may. you just went through the whole litany and the culture we face during richmond during this legislative session. it probably will pass and the governor has said to me, what's wrong with protecting the integrity of the election system? and i said what you are saying to virginians is if you require a photo i.d. and you don't have it and they have to use a provisional ballot, right now we just do it -- you just say, i am who i say i am under oath. these saying you don't trust the word of virginians. their sworn oath. and i say that unacceptable. >> well, delegate, let me say this. that's why we've got to keep fighting and fighting. we will. laura bassett, thanks to both of you for your time tonight. and have a great weekend. >> thank you. >> thanks for having me.

coming up -- the gop loves time travel. why else would they keep trying to turn back the clock on women's rights? their latest assault next. plus -- willard unveils his big economic plan to an empty stadium. i guess no one was interested in hearing mr. 1% brag about his cadillacs. >> i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck. ann drives a couple of cadillacs, actually. and i used to have a dodge truck. so i used to have all three covered. >> and forget the oscars. we've got the rev carpet award. which one of these republicans will take home a statue? you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. the employee of the month isss... the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card.

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ahead -- the retreat is on

in virginia, but the gop war against women's health is still raging across this country. now, today, in 2012, where's the fight going next? stay with us. the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. all your important legal matters in just minutes.

now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business... protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. we're back with the question everyone is asking. how did we get here? in the last month, we've seen the war on women's health explode across the country. from komen's shocking decision to defund planned parenthood to republicans full-blown culture war over birth control. yes, birth control in 2012. then there was this now infamous

picture showing a panel of men debating birth control. and virginia pushing an anti-abortion bill many people called state rape. now seven republican-led states filed a threw the stop the president's birth control coverage mandate saying it violated first amendment rights. this was all just in the last month. this extreme agenda against women really started in the last two years. check out this chart showing some state abortion restrictions since 1985. for 25 years, you see the line steady. then last year, you see a huge spike in just the first six months of last year. states enacted more restrictive legislation than they had in any time over the past 25 years. but no matter how hard they charge, the fight is on. and it's working.

joining me now is melissa harris-perreerk host of msnbc's "melissa harris-perry." also a professor of political science at tulane. melissa, thanks for being here. >> sure. absolutely. >> let's pick up back at this chart. let's look at the explosion of the anti-abortion legislation. how did we get here? 25 years we looked at the chart. then we spiked up last year. how did we get to this point? >> a couple of things going on. this will sound like an odd metaphor but i think this is a national eating disorder. now i know that sounds nuts, but one of the things we know about when young women get eating disorders, it's often at times in their lives when things are very confusing and difficult. they are going through big transitions and they think, i can't control my grades. but the one thing i can control is my body. i can bring control over my body by not eating very much. part of what we're seeing is we're in an economic downturn, deal with international warfare,

a more diverse country. all of these things are changing. we don't know thou go back and turn the clock back so we're going to assert control over women's bodies. the one thing we can do. the one thing we have available to us is messing around with women's right to choose, women's ability to control their own fertility. it's a national psychosis and anxiety about all the things we can't control so we attempt to control this. >> let me show you how extreme it is. if you look at the fact. let's look at outrageous actions being taken in three states. let me start with just three. ohio, since conducting hearings on a heartbeat bill. which would prohibit most abortions after a heartbeat is detected. it would only allow abortion if mother's lives are threatened. new hampshire, house recently voted to defund planned parenthood and other groups performing abortions. they're now trying to overturn the 12-year-old birth control mandate. texas, barred planned parenthood

from participating in the state medicaid program this week. slashed state funding for women's health programs. left more than 180,000 women without access to preventive health care and has an ultrasound law in effect. i mean, this is some real extreme radical stuff. you're talking about psychosis. this is psychotic, if you are trying to deal in a civilized time of women having control over their own body and their own decisions. >> and this has been a long-term stealth war. on the one hand, the graph that's pretty even in terms of legislation. but what we saw was these pro-life movements going in, for example, and making it tougher for medical students to get training. making it -- just shutting down clinics. so it was legal under the question of roe v. wade and the legality of abortion, the right to terminate a pregnancy based on your own decision-making.

but if you make it impossible to afford it, to get it, to have a doctor who can perform it safely. if you can make it all of those things. what's happened now is that stealth war has become public. and now we're seeing these actual public policies coming into effect. they're reflecting something that's been going on for a decade. >> isn't the politics of this dangerous, though? you are going after women's rights in 2012. you are going after voter rights which disproportionately affects minorities and students and seniors. don't they really risk the right wing energizing a base of people that will come out with a cause to vote for even more than if they supported the president? >> indeed. look. president obama was trying to figure out in part how are we going to get young voters to have the same level of enthusiasm as they did in 2008. and the fact is the president is going to have a little difficulty with young voters because they have elected someone and everything wasn't perfect on the other side of it.

this will energize young voters. 20-year-old women, 30-year-old women, did not expect that birth control would ever become a political issue. my students did not think that one day they would wake up and find that they may not have access to the birth control pill. this will energize young people. >> melissa harris-perry. thanks for your time tonight. and, remember, you can watch melissa on her show, "melissa harris-perry" saturday and sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. ahead -- rick santorum's latest conspiracy theory. the president wants kids to go to college so they can be indoctrinated. mr. santorum, educating you makes my head hurt. but first, our ongoing series, "here are the jobs." we'll talk to a businessman looking to hire thousands this year. everywhere you go, america,

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now to our ongoing series "here are the jobs." we know the economy is getting stronger. slowly, but surely. so we're pounding the pavement in search for job openings. we profiled six major employers since our series began.

together, they have 5,315 jobs open right now. and so far, 585 people have been hired. that's great news, but we're just getting started. tonight, we focused on the big boom in senior home care. aarp says about 7,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. that aging population is leaning more and more on home health aides instead of nursing homes. comfort keepers is one of those home health providers. right now, they are looking to fill up to 1,000 jobs. the company plans to hire 10,000 people by the end of the year. joining me now, comfort keeper's chief operating officer tim percy. thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> my pleasure. >> tell us what kind of jobs are available, tim. >> well, primarily we're looking for caregivers, homemaker,

companion-type workers. we're also looking for personal care aides to do more hands-on work with the clients. we also have sales positions, administrative positions and the great thing about being part of a franchise system is we also have franchise business opportunities for those aspiring entrepreneurs. >> now these permanent jobs, and where are they located? >> they are permanent jobs. they are located all over the country. the only place we don't have comfort keepers franchise operators is in wyoming, vermont and hawaii. >> now specialized home care is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. do potential job candidates need special training or education for some of these? >> there is some special training required. we first like to get by those things we can't train for. we look for compassionate caregivers. those that are passionate about caring for seniors. then we can get into the skills training. the base skills trainings for homemakers and companions and more specialized home health

aide training or cna training that can be done through vocational schools, through community colleges or technical schools. but we like to think that that training can be done especially well through companies like comfort keepers. we like to say that we hire caregivers and train them to be comfort keepers. >> how can people apply for these jobs? >> they can go to our website. that's the west bay. comfortkeepers.com. or career builder and type in comfort keepers in the search window there. >> now let me ask you for the viewers who might want to look into starting their own comfort keepers franchise. how do they do that? >> well, they can go to franchise.comfortkeepers.com and get started. that will give them the information they need to know to begin that path in determining if a comfort keepers franchise is right for them. there will be a process they'll be helped through. we like to think that being in the business of caring for people is the right place to be. >> tim percy, thank you for your

time tonight. we'll check back to see how the jobs are progressing. for all the information on here are the jobs series, head to our website, politicsnation.msnbc.com click on "here are the jobs." we are looking forward to hearing from you. up next -- let detroit go bankrupt. delivers his latest economic words of wisdom. no wonder he had some trouble drawing a crowd. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. and hello to "whoa, yum." use campbell's cream of chicken soup to make easy enchiladas, cheesy chicken & rice, and other chicken dishes that are oh...so...whoa.

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romney's stunning answer back in 2008. today, he returned to the scene of the crime. michigan. to roll out his economic plan. and he came up just about empty. literally. that's a picture of detroit's ford field. romney organized an event with just a few hundred supporters, even though the stadium seats 65,000. willard barely mentioned his opposition to the bailout, but he did find time to talk about cars. his cars. >> i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit-made automobiles. i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck. ann drives a couple of cadillacs, actually. >> oh, she drives a couple of cadillacs, does she? how nice, willard. bragging about your cadillacs probably isn't going to win over working class americans trying to put food on the table. especially when they learn about your new tax plan. a new analysis shows willard's

plan would save the poorest 20% of americans just $78 a year. but, get this. those in the top 1% would get a tax cut of an extra $60,000. and if you are in the top 0.1%, romney wants to give you an additional $264,000 a year. that's a whole lot of new cadillacs for the rich. joining me now is verge, the mayor of lansing, michigan. today some auto workers were protesting outside the stadium. romney likes to sing "america the beautiful" on the campaign trail. ♪ oh, michigan oh, michigan mitt romney [ bleep ] on thee ♪ ♪ and tea party is so damn mean from sea to shining sea ♪

>> well, mr. mayor, mr. mayor, does that about sum it up? >> you got that right. rev, as usual, you put a smile on my face but his tax plan doesn't. it's the same old trickle down economics we've gotten from the republicans for years. and we are tired of being trickled on. this takes care of the rich. takes care of people like romney. he doesn't want an inheritance tax because he wants to pass on all that wealth to his children. we need to be taxing wealth and not work in this country. and working people under his plan continue to be punished. so there's a lot not to like in the plant. it would end medicare as we know it. it continues the paul ryan approach to taking apart medicare. so there's nothing for our older americans to like about it. we need a plan that promotes the middle class, that promotes working people, that builds our economy. this whole republican primary, rev, has really been a cacophony

of crap, to be frank. >> you know, what is so interesting to me is everyone except conservatives seem to see how the auto bailout really was a good idea. i mean, look at these numbers. asked about the auto bailout, was it good for the economy? 72% of democrats say it is. 54% of independents. 57% of republicans. 38% of conservative republicans. i mean, how do you argue against success, mr. mayor? >> the guy is politically tone deaf. this is a guy that stands in a stadium of 65,000 and talks to 2,000 people. but he can't get the -- he doesn't get the message. he doesn't get politics 101. two presidents, let's not forget. even president bush understood the importance of the auto industry. the domestic auto industry is the backbone of industry and manufacturing in this country. and for mitt romney and rick santorum to not understand that, i think is a deadly error.

and i'm hoping that those same people you are talking about, democrats, republicans and independents will understand what that means. manufacturing is the backbone of our economy. you have to make things. great nations have to produce greatly. not just consume. and both president bush and president obama praise god understood that and saved the domestic auto industry saved the supply chain. presented over a million people from being unemployed and stopped this country from sliding into a depression. so they're just absolutely in la la land on this issue when most americans, as you point out, they get it. >> but, mr. mayor, you still have a 9.3% unemployment rate in michigan. you would think that if they had a sound message, that could be problematic for the president when unemployment that high in your state. >> well, again, you know, look at the republican primary, though. the reason why president obama remains popular is because he's working on it. he's working night and day to improve things. we're watching these ads. we're forced to watch these

attack ads back and forth. what is missing? this republican primary has been a circus side show. nothing more than a circus side show from the struggles that michiganders are facing. there's virtually no talk about jobs and growing jobs. virtually no talk about rebuilding the economy. virtually nothing said about the foreclosure crisis and the housing crisis. people are underwater in their homes. no discussion of it. these folks are spending millions of dollars on ads and they're not discussing the very real issues affecting this state and country. >> not even in the debate the other night. i cited how jobs was barely mentioned. and i guess that's the reason, you know, since november, nbc has moved two midwestern states from a toss-up to leaning toward the democrats with the presidential election. >> i don't know -- >> including michigan. >> i don't know who the republicans are talking to, rev. i can't figure out. it's like they're on another planet. remember the debt crisis when they didn't want to give the president the authority and wanted to talk about the debt

ceiling and all of this. we have real struggles. real issues. let's talk about the very real struggles michiganders, that americans are facing today. and the republicans are tone deaf. i guess because they're out picking out their next vehicle. if they buy a cadillac, i hope they buy a lansing-made one. we need to address the real issues so everyone can afford to be a part of this economy. >> mayor virg, i told you last time, work on your passion and bringing out your points with some power. you are getting better. >> thank you so much. always a pleasure to have you on. still ahead -- jeb bush has a warning for republicans about all those attacks on president obama. plus -- the stars are arriving any minute. who will take home this year's rev carpet award? stay with us. ng your way to retirement, get on e-trade. set up a real plan. frank! oh wow, you didn't win?

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a little troubling sometimes when people are appealing to people's fears and emotion. these appeals to fear getting more shameless by the day. just check out what rick santorum said on the glenn beck show. >> i understand why barack obama wants to send every kid to college. because they are indoctrination machines. >> do we make it another four years with barack obama? >> i think this country would be a fundamentally different country at that point. we will have lost the -- i am not saying it just to you. i think we will have lost the very essence of what america is about. >> what? the president's re-election would somehow destroy america's essence? those comments capped a week filled with the lowest kind of attacks on the president. >> this is what the president's agenda -- it's not about you. it's about some phony ideal. some phony theology. >> i don't think we've seen in

the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance we've seen in barack obama. >> barack obama is the most dangerous president in modern american history. the president wants to unilaterally weaken the united states. >> do you believe that president obama is a christian? >> i think you have to ask president obama. under islamic law, they -- the muslim world sees barack obama as a son of islam. >> joining me now is e.j. dionne, columnist for "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor. he just wrote an article about all these attacks called president obama as an alien. and michael steele, msnbc analyst and former rnc chairman. thank you both for being here tonight. >> good to be with you. >> good to be with you. >> e.j., is such rough language new in mainstream politics? >> we've had rough language at a lot of moments in our history. those of us on the liberal side,

should acknowledge that some occasionally call president bush a nazi which they shouldn't. i don't think anybody should use nazi metaphors. but there is a different quality to what is going on with president obama. they're trying to turn him into a stranger. an alien. a candidate with a hidden agenda for the country. and, you know, it's not just you disagree with him on something. it's that he hates religion. or as reverend graham said later in that interview, he accused him of favoring muslims over christians. i believe in disagreement. i have a lot of conservative friends. love arguing with them about things. disagreement is one of the joys of freedom. but this goes way beyond disagreement to really trying to say that barack obama is not one of us. well, he sure is one of us. he loves basketball. he's got a very old-fashioned family life. he loves this country. people should stop this

nonsense. it's four years into his administration. and people are still saying this stuff. >> well, talking about conservative friends, we like to argue with, michael, let me go to you. >> exactly. >> a gifted man wrote, and let me show it to you, quote, there is something especially rancid about the never-ending efforts to turn obama into a stranger, an alien, a manchurian candidate with a diabolical hidden agenda. of course, that gifted man was e.j. dionne. i mean, don't you think, michael, that some of this has gone over the top? >> no, i do. i do, reverend. and i think it's -- it imperils the overall effort that began in 2009 to re-establish the republican party and its message as one that resonates with people. and i really appreciated e.j.'s piece today because i thought it struck a number of chords. but your first point, this has

been sort of the poison of politics, particularly in the last ten or so years, which i think is really coming to a head in this campaign, unfortunately. i think you have, and you'll probably talk more about jeb bush and others, who are beginning to say, okay. enough. we are losing sight of the policy discussion and debate and this is becoming much more personal to the point it's turn something people off, including some of our own. we have to be very careful about that. >> e.j., that is -- the reality is that most americans don't even understand what the candidates stand for. they are just caught up in these attacks and who can outattack the president and it's become almost -- it would be funny if it wasn't so sad. let me show you what comedy centr central, "the daily show." give you an example of how it's become a joke. >> what will be the republicans'

rhetorical strategy against obama this time around. >> he will wage war on the catholic church the morning after he's re-elected. >> yes, november 3rd, 2012, right after the president-elect enjoys a victory omelet, the catholic church will be attacked. >> america will not be the land that believes in free people and free enterprise. >> if we re-elect barack obam airan will have a nuclear weapon. >> there is no future. there is no hope with president obama having a second term. >> you're already dead. everybody. you're dead already! this whole place. everything you say is gone. >> that is an example of how bizarre they are beginning to look. but, e.j., how do you run for president when people think you are that bizarre, that over the top, that extreme? >> well, i think that's why jeb bush said what he said. because i think there are some

smart republicans. jeb bush is a smart guy. who realized that there were plenty of middle of the road voters whom republicans might reach if they wanted to make a real argument about something, but who look at this just as that jon stewart clip did and said, who are these folks saying about obama, somebody i've gotten to know pretty well over almost four years, that he is this kind of guy, this kind of extreme guy who will change america in fundamental ways. i find it amusing that here is barack obama who leads one of the most traditional kind of family lives being criticized by people who, not in all cases, lead quite as traditional a family life. i mean, what are we talking about here? >> i think that is interesting. michael, let me ask you this. when you hear people like george will, a very respected conservative columnist saying neither romney nor santorum looks like a formidable

candidate in november, and former mississippi governor hailey barbour saying i don't think any of them have made the case that i'm the best guy to beat obama. when you have prominent people like this along with jeb bush, is it still a possibility somebody else could come in or are you stuck with one of these guys that some of the leaders of our party are saying don't cut the mustard? >> you make it sound like a bad shoe. but the reality of it is, yeah, anything is possible. will it happen? i don't think it will. i think if someone is injected into this thing at the last minute, regardless of what the timetable may say in terms of their ability to get in between now and the california primary, i think the base would reject them. i don't think there's going to be this overwhelming lurch toward that individual. the base has said we're going to settle this out amongst these four individuals and they're going to ride this candidate into the fall. but it gets back to the point of

the segment which is the party as a whole has to recognize this is not about the short-term sound bite against the obama administration or the president personally. it is about our vision, our future for america and how we want to bring people to embrace that ideal of this country as opposed to creating up these straw arguments about the president's faith, his family, his community and whatever. i think we need to refocus here. i think the message has to be tighter and smarter than it's been. i think it's time we stop the sort of move towards the personal as e.j. noted and talk more broadly about where we want to lead the country. >> michael steele, e.j. dionne, thank you both for joining me tonight. have a great weekend. >> you, too, reverend. up next, the oscars are coming, and we're giving out our rev carpet awards. stay with us. [ coughs ]

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welcome back to "politics nation." they are getting ready for the oscars in l.a. this weekend. forget about the red carpet. we've got the rev carpet. get it? let's get right to our "politics nation" awards. our first category is best performance by republicans playing democrats. and we have a three-way tie. >> makes the party look like it isn't a modern party. it doesn't understand the modern world we live in. >> gone are the days when the republican party used to put forward big, bold visionary stuff. >> i'm tired of dealing with the crazies. >> governor, i couldn't agree with you more. for the next award, the "politics nation" academy couldn't determine whether the

nominee belonged in the animation category, so we went out on a limb. the award for the best presidential performance by a human being, we think, goes to mitt romney. >> i love this state. it seems right here. the trees are the right height. i love cars. >> i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. >> see if i can get my arms around everybody here. much closer. much closer. oh! who let the dogs out? who? who? >> a truly uncanny performance. next award, best actor in the sci-fi thriller, and it goes to speaker newt gingrich. also known as newt skywalker. >> we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be american. >> congratulations, newt. we also have an award for the best female lead.

let's look at the nominees. >> when you have 40% of kids being born out of wedlock and among certain ethnic groups, the vast majority being born out of wedlock, you ask, how are we going to have a society. >> if you vote forward planned parenthood, like the senator has, you vote forward birth control pills. >> as president of the united states, i will defund planned parenthood. >> oh, sorry. never mind. no women there. guess that award will have to wait until those republicans figure out how to play a more supporting role. folks, we're going to end on a high note. an audience favorite. our nominees for best song in a presidential race are -- ♪ i'm so in love with you ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain