makes you throw up. >> we are not overnight going to solve the problem of the world. >> defeating obama is a single thing that would change everything. >> this is not about you, this is about some phony ideal, some phony theology. >> when a million jobs are on the line, every republican candidate turned their back, even said let detroit go bankrupt. not him. >> don't bet against the american auto industry. >> please define yourself using one word and one yord word only. >> consistent. >> courage. >> resolute. >> cheerful. >> and you thought the time between debates would be boring. okay, if you had any doubt things were close in michigan, take this snapshot. real clear politics putting the spread of the most recent polls

at 1.5 points. "the new york times" number cruncher predicts romney gets 68% against santorum's 38%. this could turn the race into reset mode by calling into question his electability. joining me now is new york times columnist charles blow and conservative commentator s.e. cup. happy super tuesday. >> and to you. >> the establishment has never loved mitt romney or never thrown him a parade, but on the other hand they supported him because of the money and the organization and thought he was their best chance to beat barack obama. if he can't win his home state, charles, what do they do? >> well, i mean, i think people are panicking right now. the problem is that we have time we go into one of these contests and mitt does not perform as well as they thought that he would, what you're getting is the culmination of this idea that he is not galvanizing the

party. and that means he is weaker. even in michigan, if he comes in and wins by a hair, that's not really a win. it still reinforces the idea haste not valvizing galvanizing the republican party. he needs to win big and he's not going to do that tonight. >> is it just a numbers game? if he wins by two points or one point, does it matter? he just has to win? >> in some sense michigan has already damaged mitt romney. you know, before a single vote was cast, we had been talking about for a week, maybe even two, how uncertain his fate is in his home state. if you rewind a little bit and look back to new hampshire, south carolina, florida, one imagines that after florida, mitt romney looked ahead to the primary schedule and thought, smooth sailing, right? >> we looked ahead to the primary schedule and said, he'll go to michigan and win there because -- >> we assumed he would win in

colorado. >> he won it four years ago. >> he did really well in colorado in 2008. so it has been a rocky road. and i think michigan, not breaking news here, is a very decisive moment for this campaign. >> i want to talk more about e lebltability electability because it is part of his montra. here's what rick santorum is saying on the campaign trail. >> i have a record that can go on and take on barack obama on this issue and build support in those key areas of our country. in the states, the swing states, like pennsylvania and ohio, michigan, missouri, wisconsin, indiana. those states, if they go for rick santorum, you can go to bed, it's over. you can't win the election. >> to my point of the establishment, charles, are they thinking, maybe rick santorum can win? >> no, maybe they think it, but no one else thinks it. rick santorum scares the bejesus out of people. >> clearly his poll numbers are

up, charles. >> even the republican party may think that, but -- >> democrats wouldn't. >> excuse me, christine o'donnell won the republican primary, doesn't mean she can win the general. what the republican establishment wants is to win the general election. and rick santorum is making himself completely unelectable by continuing to not be the son of a coal miner, which is actually a good message to run on and to be a family man and to be a man of faith. >> but do you wonder where this would be right now if he had done that? where would we be if he stuck with that montra? >> obviously, the past few weeks have helped rick santorum. he's challenging in michigan, he won colorado. when i was at c-pack i would a younger voter who is they liked and it was rick santorum. most of them said it was because of the three-fer night where he

seemed electable and didn't before. he has to pivot and cannot depend on the news cycle for the rest of the election season. he has to make the argument that the social issue, the moral issues are also economic issues. he can do that. i have seen him do it on the stump. he needs to do it on the national stage. >> you cannot pivot from college where satan is having his biggest impact and pivot that into an economic issue. that's a fallacy, you can't do that. >> of course you can. >> let me bring in bill bellinger who has been on our show before. good to see you again, bill. look, you're there on the ground and you know michigan, how close is it? >> it is as close as you can imagine. it's a jumpball. anything can happen today. >> all right. let's talk about the last-minute appeals that are going on out there and play a couple clips from the last 12 to 24 hours or so. >> i'm asking for your vote. tomorrow can be the first step in restoring the greatness of

america. tomorrow can be the step in a better future. >> don't miss the opportunity to stand up and not pay attention to those who say, oh, we can't really elect someone who is too conservative. >> it's always interesting to me given the fact that americans don't vote unfortunately in huge numbers. when you go into a state when voters feel something consequential is happening, do you get that sense and think the republicans are going to turn out in big numbers today? >> oh, i think they will, and i think there is a question about how big a crossover vote is going to be. the biggest development is the rick santorum robo calls you have probably heard about. a voice that sounds like it is right out of uaw solidarity house or the obama re-election committ committee, a grafly male voice, the other a female voice urging fellow democrats, because it is pitched in a way that makes it sound like it is coming from

democrats to democratic voters to get crossover and vote in the republican primary today against mitt romney because of his position on the auto bailout. and then at the very end there's a tag line saying this ad paid for by the rick santorum for president committee. so it's obviously a disingenuous ad, it's hypocrite call because santorum has the same position on the auto bailout as romney. and romney has found out about it, denounced it, it's in the news media today. now whether there's going to be a backlash against this or whether maybe it is happening too late to have an effect, we don't know. >> i'm also curious about the heavily negative attack ad. sometimes that can depress turnout. what do you think? >> well, attack ads generally do depress turnout, but on the other hand as you have been discussing, if the race is as close as it is and michigan seems to be as important as it is, that's going to be running counter to the vote turnout

depression argument you're making. and that's going to get people to turn out and vote. >> i'm going to be fascinated to hear what people say when they go and wonder if some of the things rick santorum has been saying over the last weekend will, indeed, have an impact. let me play them just to remind folks. >> president obama once said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. i don't believe in an america with the separation of church and state is absolute. to say that people of faith have no role in the public square, you bet that makes you throw up. >> where is that coming from? i mean, is there somebody in his campaign saying to him, you got to stop? you have to stay on message? it seems like he creates issues where he doesn't have to. >> yes and no. i think a lot this talk of social issues has been created, a, at the start of the hhs mandate. if that happened, all the candidates addressed it. then the social issues were

helping rick santorum. certainly he courted that kind of discussion, but before the hhs mandate was a story in the news cycle, he was out talking about manufacturing and the economy. so i think some of this is chicken and egg, but certainly if he's seen his poll numbers rise against mitt romney who is his only challenger right now, he's not thinking obama yet. then he's going to continue that kind of rhetoric. >> that's absolutely not true. rick santorum was talking about the college obama snob connection well before the hhs ruling ever came out. and i wrote a blog post about that a long time ago. he talked about that, he continues to say something that is not true about the president, by the way, and the president has never said that -- >> that's not a social issue. >> whoa, she played a clip, we are talking about the issues. >> that's an economic issue. >> but we are talking about the issues in the clip that we just saw. >> right. >> and he was talking about that well before that. >> right. >> he's been on this hobby horse for a very long time. it has nothing to do with that.

if you look back at his record, the speeches he has given, this is part of who rick santorum is. and it is always going to surface. i has nothing to do with what happens in the news. he want this is and has always wanted to fight on this ground and that's what he's doing. >> clearly, he's a conservative. he's always been one and he's never hid that from view. he's always been a social conservative. and anyone who has any knowledge of rick santorum before this election knew him has a social conservative if nothing else. but that was an economic issue he was talking about. he talks about the economic issues all the time. i'm talking about contraception and abortion that was brought up by health and human services. >> how is obama wanting people to go to college making obama a snob on economic issues? i'm sorry. >> if everyone is in college, who is in the factories? who is bringing back the manufacturing industry snz? it is perfectly related.

>> that's not what the president said. the president said it in the state of the union, he said some sort of post-high school, whether it would be technical programs or a community program, a community college, so he never said that. >> i got it. but yourself asking if there's an economic connection, and of course, there is. >> always interesting. bill, good luck today. i think it could be an interesting and long night. what's your prediction when we have the final numbers? is it going to go until tomorrow morning? >> i think we'll find out a lot earlier than that. and by the way, i think what you just said was irrelevant here in michigan. i think santorum is pushing all the buttons he needs to push to get the vote he wants out today. this issue of religion in the public square and so forth and college snobbery and everything, that plays to the base voter here in michigan. it's going to turn out today. forget the general election. >> fascinating stuff. bill, good to see you, thank you. we do want to bring you the latest developments in the

school shooting in chardon, ohio. officials confirmed overnight that a second student has now been declared brain dead. 17-year-old russell king jr. was one of the five students hit when another student opened fire. the suspect, 17-year-old t.j. lane, is described in ways we have heard before in these tragedi tragedies, as a loaner. >> he was just honestly really quiet, but you could always tell he had a very sad look in his eyes all the time. he usually just kept to himself. >> nbc's kevin tibbles is joining me now from chardon, ohio. kevin, we are learning more about this alleged shooter. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, chris, a very sad day here in chardon. what i can tell you this morning is that this young man came from what appears to have been a troubled home. his family had recently divorced. he is said to have been living with his grandparents and that his father had had several run-ins with the law, violent run-ins with the law with regards to assault.

he was even accused of attempted murder at one point when that charge was dropped. this man has seen things in his past that have troubled him. what they are saying today is that his second victim, the coroner's office certainly after midnight, said he's considered braindead. so we are now talking potentially of two casualties in this shooting that took place at the high school, which is just 100 yards from where i'm standing speaking to you from this morning. >> and the other three students hit, what do we know about their conditions? >> reporter: well, the latest update i understand is that the one is in serious condition and the other is in stable condition. they are not talking any more about them this morning, but there is a news conference scheduled for the next hour or so, perhaps we will get some more details about who they are and what their conditions are as well as the situation involving the gunman, t.j. lane, who will be appearing in court for

arraignment this afternoon. >> kevin tibbles, thank you so much. we'll be right back. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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so i'm happy to introduce a son of detroit, a friend, a guy who makes great music who introduced me by dvd everywhere i go. kid rock! >> singer kid rock helping mitt romney wrap up his michigan campaign before thousands of screaming supporters at the royal oak music theater performing "born free." romney's campaign song. in an attempt to counter the romney machine, rick santorum would love to create some michigan mischief. he's got a new robo call aimed at democrats who can't vote in today's republican primary. >> romney supported the bailouts for his wall street billionaire buddies but opposed the auto bailouts. that was a slap in the face to

every michigan worker and we're not going to let romney get away wit. on tuesday join democrats who are going to send a loud message to massachusetts mitt romney by voting for rick santorum for president. >> well, mitt romney fired back this morning saying santorum has a lot of explaining to do. >> it's a dirty trick, it's outrageous to see rick santorum team up with the obama people and go after union labor in detroit to try to get them to vote against men me. >> i'm joined by mark burr, good to see you, good morning. >> thank you. >> you have given an endorsement to democrats to vote in the primary do. you think they will show up and do you think it was a dirty trick? >> our policy is people should not crossover, but there's a 50-year history of people in michigan crossing over. republicans have crossed into our primaries. it's going to happen today. frankly, it's a real sign of romney's weakness that he's so concerned about a handful of

democrats crossing over. there's a lot of anger here in michigan about mitt romney and his opposition to the auto rescue. he should be the hands-down favorite today and should win the state very easily. frankly, mitt romney losing michigan would be like barack obama losing illinois, but he may actually do that today. >> well, presumably, you have your pulse on democrats. how big is the turnout going to be on the democratic side? because if the race is as close as it is, if the polls show after we talked to bill bellinger from inside michigan politics, if it is really that close, democrats could make a difference. >> well, it is possible, but it is pure speculation about how many democrats there will be. but again, no matter how many there are, the fact that the romney people are even worried about democrats shows what a weak candidate he is. the auto rescue is very popular here, as it should be. those companies are thriving now and making money, hiring workers, expanding marketshare, that's why romney has trouble in michigan. it is not democrats crossing over. >> the convention has been that rick santorum is too extreme and

would be an easier target for president obama, but do you think his blue-collar appeal, talking about his grandfather, a coal miner, could be a tougher challenge for the president in places like ohio and pennsylvania? >> not at all. rick santorum opposed the auto rescue as well. and once people see his extreme views, learn his extreme views on social issues, i don't think he's going to have that kind of appeal here at all. so we don't really care which republican comes out of this nominating process. we'll run against any of them. and work very hard to reelect the president here next fall. >> mark burr, thank you. i want to bring in the chairman of the michigan republican party, good morning to you. and let me ask you what you make of this michigan mischief vote. rick santorum reaching out to democrats, was it a little bit of a dirty trick? could this have an impact on the results? >> well, it is highly unfortunate, to say the least. there's been shenanigans going on for the last 48 to 72 hours.

clearly the democrats are concerned that our candidate can beat barack obama, so they are trying to create some uncertainly on who the nominee will be from the michigan. >> but it was not put up by the democrats it was put up by rick santorum. >> it was put up by rick santorum, but appealing to the democratic union members. let's call it what it is. >> do you think it could make a difference? do you think there will be a large number of democrats who turn out today? >> i think there will be democrats that will turn out as they probably would have already. chairman brewer made the comment whether it will have an influential result. i tend to doubt it. republicans, we have our values, we are going to be voting for our guy. they are going to be working hard to turn the vote out for their perspective candidate throughout all the congressional districts where we award delegates. i don't think want to think that everyone needs to be concerned on the democrats. the republicans will win delegates and go on to super

tuesday to take on barack obama. >> there's no doubt that the republicans have been moving to the right talking about social issues and polls indicate that could be a problem in november. president obama has a double-digit lead over mitt romney and rick santorum. and among independents, this is the key poll here, obama leads romney by 22 points. do you think the republicans have been making a mistake by not staying laser focused on the economy? >> in michigan, in particular, and i speak to that the best, obviously, is the social issues in michigan. we have a very vibrant coalition of social conservatives. one is judged by the values that they keep and how they live their lives. that's as important to them as anything else. and at the end of the day, yeah, jobs and the economy are driving a lot of the vote and driving people's passion, but as they decide on which candidate, they are looking at the total picture and rick santorum has appealed to that coalition.

>> robert, do you have a prediction? how close will it be? >> it's going to be very close. i think it will go late into the evening. we'll know our victor, but remember, because delegates get selected by congressional district, there will be probably a good spread of delegates won around the state. >> thank you for coming on. good to see you. newt's bold predictions, rick's latest rant and mitt makes sul sylvester? next. who are the business entrepreneurs of the week? seven years ago jesse and rick bought a movie plex that couldn't compete with the big chains. they upgraded with state-of-the-art technologies and lobby renovations. the atrium is one of the remaining complexes now in the area. watch "your business" at 7:30 on saturdays and sundays on msnbc. ♪

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michigan crowd they should be thankful president obama wasn't one of the country's forefathers. >> if he was there at the founding, what would he have put in the constitution? a constitution amendment to redistribute wealth. >> jane lynch met mitt romney at the daytona 500 and said she's not impressed. she told politico, it was like small talk, but he didn't really hear a word i said. it affirmed for me that the guy does not know how to relate to people. and hillary clinton will answer questions from lawmakers later on. and the virginia state senator will vote on a controversial anti-abortion bill that requires women who want an abortion get an abdominal ultrasound that is expected to pass. originally legislators wanted a tougher measure requiring a more invasive probe. now to our primary pop quiz. this is a good one.

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helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future. ♪ back now with the answer to our primary pop quiz. since 1972 how many presidential candidates have lost their home state primary and gone on to win the party nomination? the answer is none. we'll get back to our super tuesday coverage of the primaries in michigan and arizona, but here's a look at other stories people are talking about right now. in chardon, ohio, officials say one of the five students shot yesterday is now brain dead. the student is 17-year-old russell king jr.

another student died yesterday. the suspect, 17-year-old t.j. lane, will appear in a juvenile court later this afternoon. and officials are holding a news conference at the top of the hour. stay with thomas roberts for that. what began as a schoolyard fight has led to the death of a 10-year-old california girl and the coroner ruled it a homicide. witnesses say the fight between joanna ramos and the other girl lasted a minute and both girls walked away, but joanna later died at the hospital from a head injury. no charges have officially been filed. it's hard to believe but it happened again. trouble with a cruise ship. the costa allegra with 1,000 people on board had an engine room fire monday in the indian ocean. lit take two days to tow it to the islands. it is a sister ship of the costa con quord concordia that ran aground killing 25 and leaving 7 others missing and presumed dead. matt kenseth won one of the

strangest daytona 500 races in the history of the sport. after being postponed for the first time ever due to rain, racers were forced to stop for two hours after a massive fuel fire was sparked. the number 26 ford fusion sponsored by rick santorum's campaign came in 19th. and president obama will talk to a group of united auto workers in washington, d.c. and this will be key to his re-election. it is interesting with the timing of the big vote in michigan today. we have our deputy political editor here this morning, good morning. >> good morning. >> what do we expect to hear from the president? >> obviously, this is definitely going to highlight the fact that he supported the auto bailout. it will be one more time and just kouns accidentally happens to been to the same day as the michigan primary. mitt romney was against the auto bailout and santorum also would have been against the bailout. the president also will talk

about steps to make the economic recovery last. economic equality in the economy and preserving the middle class is something you'll really hear the president touch on. because the unions are really key to his re-election. >> it's funny how this coincidence happened. and it is interesting talking to voters of the polling places how much this bailout situation and mitt romney, not only speaks so forcefully, but writing the campaign and defending to defend his position and what this will have on the eventual outcome? >> i think in the presidential outcome rick santorum has the same position he does. santorum has been consistent about this all the way through saying they should have gone through bankruptcy and he's against bailouts, trying to make romney look like he's closer to president obama's position be. new a general election, especially like mid romney, whose father ran one of the auto companies, who was governor of

the state, this position will be and would be very difficult for him to defend in a general election. we are seeing that in polling in places like michigan and wisconsin. the president opening up double-digit leads on mitt romney. >> unions are already spending money on ads as the president goes to speak to the uaw today. let me play a little bit of something just going up in ohio. >> we showed the world that america doesn't quit. and now we are coming back. but in mitt romney's world -- >> don't give them money, let detroit go bankrupt. >> i have a feeling once the general election starts we'll see a lot more of this. the unions have money to spend, don't they? >> sure, and they are going to be right behind this president. they spent about $1 million in florida to remind voters of mitt romney's positions and to support barack obama. we are learning about $325,000 spent so far in ohio, and another rust-belt state that could be key to whether mitt romney, president obama or

another republican could win the presidency. these unions are also doing a lot of other work. they are going to try to do early-voting registration drives in their plants early on. they have some online recruiting efforts that they are trying to do. so behind the scenes, obama for america, the unions, while this republican primary plays out, they are doing some work behind the scenes to try to get the president re-elected. >> domenico, always good to see you. >> thanks, chris. the democratic pollsters have some eye-opening advice. they say he may want to rethink using this message in the campaign. >> america is back. anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that america is in decline or that our influence is waned doesn't know what they are talking about. >> well, a new poll shows that argument could produce

disastrous results in this year's election. we have the co-founder of democracy course, stanley, good morning. >> thank you, chris. delighted to be here. >> what did you learn with the poll? why is the president sending the wrong message about the economy when saying america is back? >> i should understood score the president has been seconding the right message on the economy and centered over and over on the middle class. i have no doubt today that his speech with the uaw will focus on how the bring back america as a country where the middle class can succeed. but there are a couple strands in the president's economic argument. on the one hand, he's talking about the future of the middle class and making america a fair country. on the other hand, he's talking about the jobs numbers. and the america being back, but the country is not there yet. i mean, this is still a struggle for people month by month. and they believe in him. i think there's a great chance they can support him to be reelected, particularly if his goal is how we restore the middle class, how we respore

restore middle class income and jobs. that's the direction he needs to go. >> fairness for sure is an issue that works for him because that's something he hits on and speaks very eloquently about. >> he's right on fairness, but the starting point is middle class. more than anything else. people think this is a country where the middle class succeeds. that's what we have to restore. they have been smashed by this crisis in the past decades of economic stagnation for middle income people. and that's where they say, that's where they say they want him to fight. and it's a big choice with the republicans. they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy and that raises the fairness argument for family. that's a big choice that works for the president. >> i'm always fascinated, though, by the sort of balance between style and substance, because stylistically, on the republican side, rick santorum has done well because he has this sort of every man quality and talked about his grandfather being a coal miner, seems like somebody to sit down to have a

beer with. you mentioned that people like barack obama and his family, he seems like a nice guy, but in the end, if gas is $5 a gallon, does any of that matter? >> well, gas is not what's going to do it, but for sure if the economy were not growing, if the economy stalled and incomes began to slow again, then you would, you know, for sure this would be a challenging race. look, it doesn't matter. people like the president. more than that, they want to see him succeed. they don't like the way the republicans try to do everything possible to derail his presidency and undermine his agenda. so the fact that the voters are rooting for him, you know, is really genuinely helpful. but it is true, 85% of what happens here is whether the economy is being seen to move on the right track. the president is doing the right things in battling with the right people in that process. >> good to see you, stan.

democratic pollster stan greenberg, thank you. >> to the polls in detroit, michigan, now, where john yang is talking to people hitting the voting booths this morning. john, good morning to you. we hear there are some democrats who are voting in this republican primary. >> reporter: that's exactly right, chris. if it's an open primary, any voter can ask for the democratic ballot which has one name on it, barack obama, or the republican ballot, which has 11 names on it. rick santorum has been reaching out to democrats urging them to vote in the republican primary. mitt romney says that's a dirty trick, saying he's trying to cause trouble. we talked to one democrat who voted in the republican primary earlier today with the name of herbert powell. he's upset how things are going but just wants to make his voice heard. >> i just feel like something has to be done. i don't know if i'm going to vote for mr. obama or not. i voted for him in the last

election but i don't know if i can vote for him this time. i want to raise my daughter that you have to voice your opinion, you have to have a backbone and not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. >> reporter: there's some history to this in michigan. last time in 2008 a surge of democrats and independents voting in the republican primary. i'm sorry, this was in 2000. they helped john mccain to victory over george w. bush. we'll see if history repeats itself here today. >> it will be a fascinating night, john, thank you so much. and michigan's economy, of course, had been hit harder than most states because of its dependence on the auto industry and manufacturing. jeffrey johnson was in flint and spoke to african-american voters about what matters to them this election year. >> reporter: as the birthplace of general motors, flint, michigan, has weathered the ups and downs of the american auto industry. when gm faced near death, so did

flint. and now in the days leading up to michigan's primary election, residents are hoping the presidential candidates are thinking about flint's future. >> i want them to think about our community, think about flint, the birthplace of general motors. we want to keep the jobs and want people to survive. >> reporter: tamika duncan and her aunt mary are two of three generations of a proud gm family. one of which came to michigan from the south for jobs to help build the black middle class in america. >> in the '50s you could get hired and start working the same day. >> reporter: they acknowledged the best days for the industry and the city are behind them. the recently recession was devastating to michigan's african-american population. in 2011, 10.1% of the blacks were unemployed, twice the normal rate. many in washington, d.c., are debating whether president

obama's bailout of the auto industry is saving plants like the one behind me. but for real families in flint, michigan, and cities just like it, this is bigger than a debate, it's about real life. >> i really don't see a middle class. i mean, because everyone right now is struggling. >> reporter: henry boon moved here for better opportunities. he's been a gm employee for 36 years. an obama supporter, he believes the president's bailout plan was a move to help protect the shrinking middle class. >> gm could have made it out even leaner, even stronger, but then the quality of life for these towns, we definitely needed somebody who understands that the economy should be working for the people, not the people for the economy. >> reporter: the economy, a key issue in michigan's primary election, weighing especially heavy on the minds of auto workers. >> and tonight msnbc's primetime coverage of the michigan and arizona primaries begins at 8:00

p.m. eastern time. hosted by chris matthews, al sharpton, rachel maddow and lawrence o'donnell. the best political coverage is right here on msnbc. before we take a quick break, we want to take a break from american politics because we have to show you this great video from a political rally in germany. there she is, chancellor angela merkle who sits down to be served a beer when, oops! the waiter spills the entire tray of beers down her back. look at, she doesn't even flinch. he claims he was pushed, but i don't know if i see anybody pushing him in the video. merkle did continue on with her evening.

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student is dead and another student pronounced brain dead after yesterday's school shooting in chardon, ohio. we'll speak to the classmate who knew the victims and the shooter. and super tuesday for republicans in michigan and arizona. rick santorum is hoping democrats are the message man, john bender. and president obama delivers remarks to the united auto workers union and he'll talk about the auto bailout. that and more at the top of the hour. thank you, thomas. the united nations today is pulling its international staff out of northeast afghanistan for safety reasons because of the ongoing violence sparked by the koran burning at a u.s. military base. the volatile situation there bringing some tough questions this morning on capitol hill for secretary of state hillary clinton as well as defense secretary leon panetta. joining me from washington is former u.s. ambassador mark ginsburg. good to see you, mr. am base

dor. >> good to see you, chris. >> you are not adjusting your plan to wind down the war by 2014 but it has reinforced a feeling among a lot of americans that the u.s. needs to get out as quick as possible. how do you think the latest violence has changed the equation? >> well, i think it has brought into sharp focus the fact that general petraeus' surge has not worked. despite what his supporters claim politically, the president has reached the end of the road in so far as reconstructing afghanistan. it's got to be back, we have to revert back to vice president biden's strategy of engaging largely and countering terrorism from the air. whether karzai stays or leaves, i think he'll end up with a pot of money in geneva. tinge taliban will continue to control a good part of the eastern part of the country. the pakistanis have no intention of supporting u.s. aims in afghanistan. and the u.s. military, i think,

has already come to the conclusion that whatever they have valiantly tried to achieve on the ground is not going to have lasting political support inside afghanistan. >> the gop candidates have been pretty blunt about this and are very critical of the president for apologizing on the koran burning. newt gingrich told the atlanta journal and constitution, i'm quoting him, there are some problems when you have to say, you know, you're going to have to figure out how to live your own miserable life. do they pay attention to what's being said here over there? let me get your reaction to that, ambassador. >> clearly, the afghani government is hedginging its bets based on what they perceive happening here because after all, we are their mare joy lifeline. we are karzai's lifeline at this point in time, but the fact of the matter is that the good speaker is way off base. he is inappropriately unfair to the u.s. military. this is a terrible situation for our troops on the ground. and he's just adding fuel to the

fire by making these outrageous statements about not apologizing, and the president shouldn't do this and this. frankly, when the president spends time in afghanistan and sees for himself what's going on, i would have a lot more confidence in his ability to make the judgment calls. >> ambassador mark ginsburg, always a pleasure to have you on the program. thank you. a lot of calls right now for the u.s. to get out of afghanistan. and the tweet of the day comes from donald trump. it's time to get out of afghanistan. we are building roads and schools for people that hate u.s. it is not in our national interests. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey. this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land.

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we have talking so much over the course of the campaign over super cash and the impact, but the topic made for a great bit when jimmy fallon and brian williams slow-jammed the news. >> some democrats said the president should stand by his initial opinion that unlimited

corporate money could erode the foundation of our democracy. >> you ain't lying, brad brad, will-wills. so many candidates are getting tucked into the g-strings. the super pacs are getting freaky. ♪ it's a super pac, super pac ♪ they're super freaky >> that needs no comment. and this wraps up this hour of "jansing and co." i'm chris jansing. don't forget our super tuesday coverage tonight. see you with the results back here tomorrow. own my own restau. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing.

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of two campaigns in their hands. the contenders, mitt romney and rick santorum. two men with very different backgrounds, very different strategies. both suffering from self-inflicted political wounds. now in one corner, mitt romney, fighting for his political life today in a state he must win, but hurting himself with remarks consistently seen as out of touch. >> i can't be perfect. i just am who i am. it seems right here, the trees are the right height. i like seeing the lakes. i love the lake. i love cars. i don't know, i grew up totally in love with cars. i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck. ann drives a couple cadillacs, actually. if people think there's something wrong with being successful in america, then they better vote for the other guy. >> meanwhile, rick santorum neck and neck with romney in michigan. and he's calling on democrats to come out to vote for him in mi