we asked you what you were doing up at this hour. our producer, john, what do you got? >> jason writes up with severe indigestion after eating an entire chicken carbonara from domino's. >> we did some research, 56 grams of fat. that's a lot, i'm told. i've got a tweet. "up way too early because new neighbor has holes in muffler, warms up car for 15 minutes. warm up? this is florida. just go." that's a great call. you don't have to warm up your car in florida. maybe you're new on the area. just turn it on and go. "morning joe" starts right now. if you think this campaign

against president obama is going to be about the economy and jobs and government being too big, then i'm the guy you need to nominate. that's what i know. that's what i've done. >> just focus in on whether we want a man who can stand up and paint a very different vision for this country, someone who's got a principled record, someone who's willing to go out and talk about all the issues that are confronting this country. all of the issues, not just how we're going to manage the economy better. >> he's a great man. >> oh, look how pretty. that's pretty. good morning, everyone. it is tuesday, march 6th. >> look at that. >> it's super tuesday. >> what is that? >> welcome to "morning joe" on this super tuesday. we celebrate super tuesday. >> wow! that's beautiful. >> with us on set, we have msnbc and "time" columnist mark halperin and msnbc political

analyst mark heilman, the game-change boys. how you doing there? >> bad boys, bad boys, how you doing? >> they still doing that thing? ♪ what you gonna do >> so mika and i, we got some bootlegs from china. >> that was exciteding. >> the game change of bootlegs have already hit the shores. >> you get it on canal street? >> i was going to say, you've got to stay off canal street. >> i got it on canal street. >> gucci bag down there, too? >> i saw the movie, and without giving anything away, i thought it was astounding what sarah palin went through. and we never realized it. you know, there's that moment, mika, where they're afraid that she's breaking down mentally. and they go to arizona. they have the doctor there. and mika goes, how's she doing?

the doctor goes, let's see, for a woman who's in the middle of what these in the middle of, who's just had a baby, who just found out her teenage daughter is having a baby, who has a son in the iraq war being shot at every day, and she's dealing with all you guys? she's doing really well. and that's the thing, mika, that puts you in the perspective. we were talking about this after the movie. i've seen you out on the road away from your daughters for two weeks. and you start to lose your equilibrium as a mother. >> absolutely. i mean, i actually watched it, and i really felt a great deal of sympathy for her. when i worked overnights and i left them every night, i was far crazier. it's very hard to leave small, small children at home and go work. >> again -- >> it just feels wrong. it just feels wrong. >> did you guys, as you were writing this book, how much did you factor in -- we're talking

about "game changer" world premiere -- >> saturday night at 9:00 on hbo. >> well done. >> as a guy that has been in politics and on a much smaller level has been staffed. >> mm-hmm. >> i don't know that i would -- i don't know that i would want my staff members through the years that were hostile to me as steve schmidt and others were hostile to sarah palin by the time that campaign was over, frame my career in congress. i don't think that would be fair. how much did you guys factor that in? how did you make sure that this was not -- by the way, i hate to jump around here, what, are you, harrelson? seriously? oh, my god. what a performance. ed harris, what a performance. julianne moore, what a performance. seriously. people are going to watch this and they're going to know, i'm not sucking up to you guys, you

forget that woody harrelson is woody harrelson. >> it's amazing. he's great. >> did you know julianne moore is going to be here later today? >> she is. she's going to be here later today. you forget. i said, how do you do "game change" because we know these people so well, you forget they are hollywood actors. anyway, to go back to what we were talking about there, how do you guys make sure that you didn't have steve schmidt, a guy i like, but a guy who's bitter towards sarah palin, frame this in that way? >> it was easy because we have sources to this day who are very loyal to her, and their stories matched up. so there was no danger, not just in the parts about sarah palin but throughout the book. there was no danger because we were always talking to people who had perspectives across the board and people who, to this day, are very loyal to her and proud of what she did.

and the proof's in the pudding in the sense that both the book and the movie, it's not a negative portrayal of her. it's the most balanced and accurate portrayal we think that's been out there. >> it's certainly not negative. there are parts that sarah palin's not going to like. >> yes. >> but he know what, though? these are parts, as i was explaining, as we were talking after the movie, as i was explaining to my wife, i said, you're upset with her because she wasn't prepared substantively? well, that's not sarah palin's fault. that was the fault of the people who selected her and hut her there. considering what she came to that campaign with, it's extraordinary. looking back, it made me just blew me away even more how well she did at the convention, how she survived a debate when she was in meltdown mode. >> five days' notice that she might be on the ticket. >> it's also not an ideological point. the book and the movie talk about things that -- where she rose to the occasion and more than rose to the occasion where she exceeded any reasonable expectation. and there were other places

where she clearly fell short of expectation. some of that was her own fault. some of that were her advisers' fault. the book did that with every single character, john mccain, mitt romney and barack obama and hillary clinton and john edwards. so, you know, we occasionally, in the last couple weeks, have heard criticism from people who say the book was some left-wing democratic thing. if you go back and read the book, we pulled no punches throughout the book, nor did we try to be hitting everybody mercilessly. we tried to show a balanced portrait of everyone. that included sarah palin. to mark's point, that meant talking to everybody in mccain and palin world who had a lot of contact with her, people who loved her, and people who had less positive feelings about her by the end of the campaign. and we took that all into account. that's what we do. >> mark, let me ask you a more broad question. why the movie focuses only on sarah palin when there was such an exciting story on the other side as well. >> excellent question. hbo wanted to make a two-hour

movie. and in two hours, you can only tell one story. they originally wanted to tell the story of the president and hillary clinton and their titanic battle for the nomination. the script teased out the fact -- you just couldn't tell that in two hours' period of time. what story can you tell in two hours? the palin story. governor palin was on the ticket 60 days. and the greatness of that narrative with what we all call great american story was easy to tell from a production point of view and a great compelling story. someone who had never been on the national stage plucked from obscurity and put at the center of this, how she was chosen and then how she dealt with it and the implications of the pick. it's a great story, tellable in two hours. >> mika, not only is it a great story on how she was picked -- and by the way, i wasn't even going to talk about this. we were going to go straight to the news. this is how great the movie is. actually, it's a three-part play. the first is the selection.

and she gets hammered. and then she goes out and gives that speech and you're, like, wow! and everybody's high fiving. and you're up here. and then they find out that there are some things that she just doesn't know about, especially on foreign policy and the disastrous katie couric interview and she's melting down, and you think, it is all over. and that finishes with her doing very well in the debate. and then part three, which i think is a really exciting part -- >> the end is incredible. i thought i wouldn't be surprised by it. >> the surprise martian invasion. >> i think one of the more telling parts is when she turned around to woody harrelson and said, hey, with all due respect to senator mccain, who she showed a great amount of respect to, they're coming out here to see me. i'm outdrawing biden. i'm outdrawing mccain. i'm going to do what i want to do. it's when she realized that she was the star and that she had a lot of people around her that did not have her best interests at heart.

>> we'll be talking to the star of the movie, julianne moore, a little bit later. we do need to get to news because it is super tuesday. and after months of campaigning, the biggest single day in the republican presidential race is here with 11 states and over 400 delegates up for grabs, much of the focus today is on the key battleground state of ohio. and as of now, the numbers suggest the buckeye state is anyone's game. three different polls in the last 24 hours show mitt romney and rick santorum in a statistical high in ohio. both candidates spent yesterday in a last campaign push before the polls open this morning. newt gingrich who has dropped in the polls since his january win in south carolina is hoping to mount another comeback today by finishing strong in the south. the former speaker is focusing his efforts on his home state of georgia which awards 76 delegates, the biggest haul of the day. and according to a cnn research poll, gingrich has 47% support in georgia. that's over a 20-point lead on his competition.

gingrich won't vote or win in his current home state of virginia because he is not on the ballot. mitt romney and ron paul are the only candidates qualified to be there. and as the primary season continues, former first lady barbara bush is speaking out against the state of u.s. politics. this is what she said in part. quote, i think it's been the worst campaign i've ever seen in my life. >> god bless her. >> i that it that people think compromise is a dirty word. it's not a dirty word. mrs. bush has been campaigning for mitt romney, and her husband, former president george h.w. bush, unofficially endorsed romney late last year. >> so break it down for us, guys. we'll start with you, john, tonight. mitt romney -- what does he have to do to lock this thing up? >> well, i think that the conventional wisdom focusing on ohio is probably right. i think, you know, he is, as

mark was saying yesterday on the show, he's the most likely republican nominee by a long way under any circumstances short of some weird tsunami. >> does ohio lock it down? >> i think it gives him -- it gives him a very strong -- he's going to have to start making -- because of the way the delegate selection thing works, it will be a long time before he actually locks up the delegates. but to start to make the convincing argument that it is all but a done deal, he'll need to win the states he's supposed to win, vermont, massachusetts, virginia, where he doesn't have anybody else on the ballot besides paul. if he wins ohio, he'll say i've won the biggest battleground state in the country. particularly if he's able to pick up one of these southern states, it will really be close to a technical knockout, if he were to pick up ten continue or oklahoma or something. tennessee, the likeliest one. if he were to do that, with tennessee and ohio in addition to the others, man, i don't know how you rhetorically make the argument it's still an open contest. >> always what you look for in politics, you look for trend lines, the fact that a week ago

santorum was up by seven in ohio, now it's a draw. tennessee, santorum was up by even more. now it's looking like a draw. if romney wins ohio and he wins tennessee, is it time to get the recording of dandy don out singing "turn out the lights, the party's over"? >> it would be the time for that anyway because i love it so much. the reality is -- or i think that mitt romney will benefit from the bad several weeks the republicans have had that we talked about yesterday because if he wins ohio and tennessee, and if he comes out of today with a lot of delegates, i think it's pretty clear that you're going to see more members of the establishment like we saw over the weekend with eric cantor saying, we've got to end this thing. if our chance to win the white house back depends on consolidating around a big front-runner, and i think if he has a good night tonight, that will start to happen. you'll see more endorsements, more money, people pressing santorum and gingrich to get out of the race simultaneously. i don't know that they'll get out, but i think it's basically over tonight if he performs up

to where he could be. >> health care is coming back to haunt romney again. he's coming under fire for a 2009 op-ed arguing that the massachusetts health care plan he enacted as governor could be used as a polgds fmodel for the. this wasn't the only time romney spoke in favor for an individual mandate. in a 2006 interview, romney was asked whether his health care plan should go national. the former governor responded saying in part, quote, i think what we've crafted changes the national paradigm. it shows that you can insist on individual responsibility and market reforms to get everybody insured. personal responsibility and market reform get to the markets to work for all of our citizens. but as a youngstown town hall yesterday, romney insisted -- >> why? why? >> stop. >> willie, why does he do this? why does he do this? we've got the tape! we've got the op-ed! >> it's got to stop. >> what does he think?

>> what did he say? >> he thinks we don't have the internet. let's listen to what he said yesterday. >> i need an emphatic yes from you that you will repeal obamacare. >> why would i not, all right? there's no -- early on we were asked, is what you've done in massachusetts something you'd have the entire government do, the federal government do? i said no. from the very beginning. no. this is designed for our state and our circumstance. >> so he was asked about that yesterday. >> he said this yesterday, willie? >> youngstown, ohio. rick santorum was on the trail hammering him again saying mitt romney is wrong on the central issue of our time. he can't win this conversation with president obama. john heilman, this may be a moot point at this point between santorum and romney, but how big does this loom in the general? >> well, look, i think, you know, conservatives are right when they say that it's going to be hard for mitt romney to prosecute an aggressive case against barack obama on obamacare given the similarities. that's always been the case, and this makes it even worse. but my question about this, it's been making me nuts, what's the

date today? it's march -- >> march the 5th? >> 6th. >> how long has this race been going on? nine months? how can it be -- >> i know what you're saying. >> -- how can it be that it took nine months for the geniuses on the other campaigns to figure out how to use lexus nexus. >> it wasn't likely, willie, that he did this op-ed in the mass paper. he did it in the nation's largest circulated paper, "the usa today" in 2009. if this had come out in january, february, i think this race would be different right now. >> can i give you a subsidiary point that republicans should be terrified of. my hunch is this come is not coming belatedly from the obama campaign which is sitting on more opposition research you can imagine about romney. they're teasing this out now i think to try to weaken him. if and when he becomes the nominee, they'll be sitting in

chicago every day saying let's do this one now and this one next week. so much stuff they're sitting on. >> if you compound those two points, you're talking about mitt romney's had this much trouble winning the republican nomination against rival campaigns if it's in truth coming from chicago. chicago has been doing opposition research on romney for a year and a half. what is going to happen to mitt romney when he gets hit with not just like decent opposition research but the best opposition research that money can buy, having gone through this entire race stumbling without being faced with that kind of opposition research? i just think it's unfathomable. >> i've got to make one other point. i think we have this fox poll. to barbara bush's point about what this race has done, there's a fox news poll that came out yesterday about the latino vote which was staggering and flew off my twitter page. >> you know what we say about this poll at fox? >> what? >> aye carumba. >> president obama is up 56

points on mitt romney. he's on 55 on santorum, 58 on gingrich. >> this is a fox news poll, willie. and of course george w. bush, in 2004, got what percentage? he was like in the 40s. >> that is a potentially fatal number, john. >> you cannot win -- and you cannot win -- >> you can't pick up 100 electoral votes! >> that's what all three of those guys have right now. obviously, all of them have worsened their situation with latino voters over the course of this primary. they can obviously make -- they can do some things to fix that, but that is a bad place to be starting from. again, it's almost fatal. if they stay there, it is fatal. you can't win. >> and you know, willie, it was interesting, looking at these numbers. a couple of weeks ago, people were talking about jeb bush parachuting into the race. and people on the right -- i won't mention any names -- started saying oh, he's mr.

amnesty. he's mr. amnesty. he wants to open the floodgates and let mexicans take over america. >> i can't tell who it is based on the impersonation. >> it's a crazy right-winger. >> jeb bush in 1998. and what made him such a dangerous republican candidate for democrats, just horrified him, he had people around him in miami at this event, and he was just -- there were swarms around him. it was like those old rfk pictures from above where there are just swarms. he was grabbing, and somebody would speak to him in english and hug him. and then somebody would grab him and be speaking to him in spanish. he would turn around and hug them and speak back to them in fluent spanish. he would move through the crowds like that. and i just sat back and started laughing. i said, the democrats are screwed. this guy's going to kill them. and he did kill them. and yet, this is a man that some people on the right say

cannot -- listen. you're either going to have to deal with the fastest growing demographic group in america, the largest group in america very soon, or you don't. you decide. if you don't want to deal with hispanics, republicans, move to new zealand because that's the only place you're going to win elections in the next 20 years. willie, they're in another time. they're in another place. they'd better -- they'd better start electing people like jeb bush that aren't going to demagogue to win iowa caucuses, or they're going to lose for the next 50 years. the bushes, with problems with george w. and karl rove, this is what they figured out 15 years ago. >> that's a point mike murphy, our good friend of the republican party, has been making for years, adapt or die. either we go with these demographic friends or keep fighting it and die. that poll right there also sort of boxed the idea that you could pick marco rubio and make him the vice presidential candidate and win the latino vote, not

with a spread like that. >> there's no leader in the republican party today who's working on this. >> there is not. >> not just the bushes, but karl rove understood this problem a long time ago. >> that's what i say. he understood it, and he and jeb and george w. --espiegillespie. >> -- ed gillespie, haley barbour. and you saw what happened to my dear friend rick perry in iowa when he was talking about the possibility of letting hispanic children -- >> i don't think that was his problem. >> it actually was with a lot of conservatives. he could handle it a bit better. he didn't need to lecture conservatives and call them heartless. but make no mistake of it, it cost him to be less than strident on the immigration issue. coming up, she stars as sarah palin in the new "game change" film. julianne moore joins us on set.

and also up next, mike allen with the top stories in the politico playbook. but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> morning to you, mika, on this super tuesday. of all the states voting, idaho, rain and snow showers. everywhere else, crystal-clear perfect. but with that comes a very chilly morning. we're looking at probably the last really, really cold morning we'll see this winter season. areas up in new england are especially cold along with portions of the northern plains into the great lakes. windchill right now in boston is four. that means in the burbs, we're in the zero range to the negative number. so bundle everyone one up. i promise it's only go to get better. i don't think we'll have a morning this cold until next winter. sunshine, temperatures in the 40s. as far as of the middle of the country goes, that's where the big warm-up occurs today. look at that, beautiful 70s from texas to kansas city and st. louis. ohio and tennessee, states we'll be watching closely, the weather is ideal. the worst weather in the entire

nation is out there in hawaii, of all places. honolulu has dealt with flooding overnight. you're watching "morning joe" on this super tuesday. we're brewed by starbucks. four walls and a roof is a structure. what's inside is a home. home protector plus from liberty mutual insurance, where the cost to both repair your house and replace what's inside are covered. so your life can settle right back into place. to learn more, visit libertymutual.com today.

if you took the top down on a crossover? if there were buttons for this? wouldn't it be cool if your car could handle the kids... ♪ ...and the nurburgring? or what if you built a car in tennessee that could change the world? yeah, that would be cool. nissan. innovation for today. innovation for tomorrow. innovation for all. ♪

chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink !

with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best technology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. 26 past the hour. time now to take a look at the "morning papers." >> it's been a great winter. >> don't jinx it, please. let's start with "the new york times." a federal judge ruled that the owners of the new york mets who profited from investing with bernie madoff must pay millions of dollars to the madoff victims

fund. the exact amount could be as high as $83 million. the judge also ruled that the owners, fred wilpon and saul katz, will face a jury over whether they were willfully blind to madoff's fraud. if so, they could be forced to pay an additional $300 million. >> willie, they're getting hit with $83 million, possibly $300 million. and the plaintiffs are actually going for $1 billion. >> they're going for more. this all implies that the wilpons knew about bernie madoff's fraud, about his scam, that they were in on it, which i find hard to believe, but they're going to pay for it. >> yeah. the problem is there is a witness out there that worked for him that allegedly warned them, specifically, and that's what i think this case is going to resolve around. "financial times." >> "the financial times." go ahead. >> are planning a new round of protests in russia this weekend after hundreds were arrested yesterday, challenging the re-election of president vladimir putin. allegations of ballot stuffing come as --

>> come on, this is ridiculous. >> -- chechen district was 107%. reporting more votes than there are registered voters. i think that's a sign of trouble. >> no, that's within the margin of error. >> just within the margin of error. >> idiots. >> 107% or 20 dead bodies. >> what's in "the wall street journal"? >> a growing number of researchers say playing video games can actually change a person's brain. duh! a study shows that people that play action-based video games make decisions 25% faster than others. >> this is important with children. >> without sacrificing accuracy. video games are also linked to productivity, eye/hand coordination. also, studies have linked compulsive gaming to gambling and obesity. and you've said this before to mothers that have been shocked. if you have daughters, make them play video games. >> sheryl sandberg told me that. >> the boys are moving fast all the time and making a lot of

split decisions. >> and they're engaged technologically and have a sense of computers. >> and that's the world that they're going on. that's why if you wondered why a couple years ago, i was waking up at 2:00 a.m. to play "call of duty" for three hours -- >> sheryl's advice was not for you. >> the other thing you can do is -- >> it's not for you. >> who is it for? >> for little girls. >> while your daughter is super mario. that's a good girl's name. >> just disturbing. really? let's go to "politico." >> "super mario" was a game that they had 25 years ago. >> still doesn't make sense. >> just go to "politico." >> with us now, chief white house correspondent is mike allen. he's got a look at the "playbook." good morning. >> good morning. sitting here playing super maria. >> okay. >> this is a big night for a guy like mike allen. this is like the first night of the ncaa tournament. you've got all the games up, you're sitting there watching. what are you looking for?

>> maggie has given us some ways to look beneath the top-line results. some of the things that we're going to be watching to look both at the trend for the next couple weeks and also how strong the ultimate republican nominee might be against president obama. one thing is can governor romney make any inroads with voters who make less than $50,000? the lower-income white voter group which is one that karl rove watched very closely when president bush was running is a place that romney's been weak. he needs to do better. they're part of the swing voters that are going to be what the election is ultimately about, if you know what women, hispanics and independents are going to do, you know the answer to this election. another sign of whether or not romney is strong or just hanging on. will he win a clear majority of the continue contests tonight? will he get six or more? how long will newt gingrich hang in? can he come in second in some

places? we think he'll win in georgia, but can he be second anywhere, or will he just be a regional candidate? and one more thing we're going to watch, ron paul will probably go to the convention. is there any point in it? can he win somewhere? there's a couple places tonight where he finally has a chance. he could win in alaska. ron paul could win in north dakota. ron paul could win in idaho, although i'll bet that will go to romney. >> another one maggie points out, how will women vote given the conversation that's gone on over the last couple weeks involving contraception and everything else. that will be one to watch. >> that's right. and do they vote? are they turn ago way? will the vote be under or over 2008 levels? "morning joe" has been pointing out, almost all contests have been under .0'08. have a super tuesday. >> thank you, mike. coming up, we'll talk to the former chief of staff, prime minister benjamin netanyahu.

plus, mitt romney shows us how not to introduce your wife to a crowd. >> i introduce to you the heavyweight champion of my life -- i don't mean weight -- that didn't come out right. [ female announcer ] the best things in life are the real things. nature valley trail mix bars are made with real ingredients you can see. like whole roasted nuts, chewy granola, and real fruit. nature valley trail mix bars. 100% natural. 100% delicious. your finances can't manage themselves. but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together

with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula

not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. but i have this new smartphone. and now i can see everything more clearly. ♪ i can organize the analysis. sort through all the data. maybe even rattle some cages. i predict that i'm going to like the future. because the future is where i'll be serving up humble pie. a la mode. [ male announcer ] at&t introduces the samsung galaxy note. phone. tablet. both. ♪

welcome back to "morning joe." let's do some sports. college basketball, the cinderella story of last year's tournament was virginia commonwealth university. remember vcu made it all the way to the final four after being one of the last teams chosen in the field of 68. they eventually lost to number one ranked kansas. vcu, another good season this year under coach smart. the coach made famous by that run. but they likely were going to have to win their conference tournament to get into the big dance. last night they tried to do that, taking on top seeded drexel, winning 19 games in a row. second half, burgess kicks it out for the three. vcu was running away with it, or so it seemed, up 15. at the end of the game, drexel came all the way back, that three cut it to a one-point game. drexel won, one last chance, down three after a couple of

made free throws. vcu hangs on to win it, 59-56. they win the conference title. and yes, vcu for a second consecutive year is in the big dance. over in the west coast conference, gonzaga and st. mary's. skip ahead to the end of the game. gonzaga down three. ten seconds left. harris, a long three with three seconds left. that sent the game to overtime. in o.t., st. mary's up a couple points with 30 seconds left. sam douer wican't hit it. st. mary's is going to the big dance. former new york mets and phillies star lenny dykstra has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of grand theft auto. a los angeles county judge rejected dykstra's last-ditch effort to withdraw a no-contest plea in an effort to fight the charges. nails as he was known during his playing days accused of using a phony business and a stolen identity to lease high-end

automobiles from dealerships. he'll be credited with one year of time served. in a separate case, dykstra has pleaded not guilty to exposing himself to women he met on craigslist. >> you know, this real sports story may need to be updated. one of the best "real sports" stories i ever saw was lenny dykstra while drooling out of the left side of his mouth being able to make millions of millions of dollars in business. >> he was supposed to be this investment guru who beat the market, figured out the game, turned out it was all a big fraud, unfortunately. >> makes me sad. one more item, exhibition tennis at the garden in new york. why do we show you that? caroline wozniacki one game away when she turned to the crowd for help. guess who? her boyfriend, rory mcilroy, the number one ranked golfer on the face of the earth, comes down to the court at the garden, handed the racket, this hours after his win at the honda classic that made him the number one player in the world. there he is playing sharapova.

going with the underhanded serve. rallies a little bit. and sharapova hits one long. mcilroy takes the point from sharapova. his girlfriend, wozniacki, eventually lost the match. up next, we'll talk to cnbc's john harwood. he gets us ready for the must-read opinion pages. keep it on "morning joe." turn left.

the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. [ chuckles ] turn right. come on -- nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh. how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks, so we're celebrating with our safety in numbers event. that's the power of german engineering. right now, lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month.

ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about how some companies like to get between ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you and your money. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we believe your money should be available ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to you whenever and wherever you want. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 which is why we rebate every atm fee worldwide. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and why our mobile app lets you transfer funds, ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 execute trades, even deposit checks just by ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 taking a picture, right from your phone. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck and put those barriers behind you. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 it is 42 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." that is pretty, as the sun comes up over new york city. getting lighter a little longer these days. here with us now for the "must-read opinion pages," chief washington correspondent of cnbc and political writer for "the new york times," john harwood.

we've got two good ones. we'll start with "the wall street journal." william mcgern. reagan was a sure loser, too. he writes this, in part. "in iowa, reagan lost the caucuses because he sat on a lead and played it cautious. in new hampshire a month later, he had to apologize for an ethnic joke that made fun of italians and poles. later, he would face santorumlike fears about his social message especially after appearing at a mass gathering of christian fundamentalists and evangelicals. yes, the parallels to 1980 take you only so far, and mitt romney is no ronald reagan. >> no, he is not. >> still, at this point in his campaign for the gop was reagan. still, at this same point in his campaign for the gop nomination, neither was evident. and attracting into the gop millions of disaffected democrats was still to come.

>> blah, blah, blah. >> what? i'm helping you out here. >> she's the heavyweight champion of morning news. >> thanks, harwood. >> as my father would say, john harwood, i remember my dad in 1979 came home from some chamber event where ronald reagan had spoken in 1979. this guy was considered a joke. my dad came into the house. he said, "i just saw the next president of the united states." we were, like, "who?" >> kind of like landau and springsteen? >> exactly. i've seen the future of the conservative movement, and he is ronald reagan. my dad wasn't an eye dideologue. reagan was reagan in 19 719 reagan was reagan in 19 779 and 1980 and the extraordinary speech at the convention.

mo romney is no reagan. >> no, he's no ronald reagan, but i think the underlying conditions in the country are such that we're guaranteed a close race. and if mitt romney can get out of this unfortunate trap that he's in now of having to fight rick santorum on the right and try to run the campaign he always intended to run, i think he's got a shot. >> what does it say about a candidate, though, who wrote an op-ed in 2009 saying that, please apply what we did in massachusetts nationally on an individual mandate, and then goes on the campaign trail yesterday and just lies? i hate to be that blunt. i hate to use that word. is -- does anybody disagree with my characterization of what he said yesterday when he had been saying all along that he had just been talking about an individual mandate for massachusetts? he lied yesterday. it's on videotape. what does that -- what are

conservatives to think about that? >> well, mitt romney has run a political career that has been entirely technically situational, right? so he runs in 1994 against ted kennedy. he's one thing. he's a different thing when he runs in 2002. and the difference is, he built a record that in some circumstances he can be proud of. he can't be in this republican party. and so he's been, from the very beginning of the first campaign, really, trying to step away from what he accomplished in massachusetts. it's difficult to do. and you find -- you end up with people like newt gingrich saying the other day, campaign of monumental dishonesty, and he's pretending to be something that he isn't. and that's a problem for romney. and he's got to figure out a way between now and november to get in a zone where he's more comfortable, authentic, honest about who he is and what he wants.

>> you know, mika, you flinched when i used the word "lie." >> it's really -- >> is that what he did yesterday? >> it appears. >> and you know, the thing is, he didn't have to do that. not to go too far off the subject, but i had called somebody in business. i asked for this person. and the assistant said, "he's not here." and the next time i saw her, it's just a friendly tip. never lie. you could have told me 1,000 different things. you didn't have to lie. i knew he was in the office. now i'll never trust you again. there were 1,000 different ways romney could have handled that yesterday. why tell people something that they know is untrue? >> he has a piece in "the washington post" today about iran. and we will -- we have dan senor coming up. >> can we continue on this, though? this is important. >> well, it is incredibly important. >> what does it say about a candidate who has faced with an op-ed that he wrote a few years

ago goes in front of people and tells them something that he knows is not true, that the press knows is not true, and that the people in the audience knows it's not true? >> i think it's the case that one of the things we've seen over the course of the republican nomination fight is that mitt romney is not an a-plus political performer. and he seems to operate -- and this actually goes to one of the broader questions from this op-ed. one of the things that's true back in reagan's day was that, you know, he could make a dumb joke, a dumb ethnic squojoke, at was not immediately known by everyone in the country. the media environment was so different. we didn't have the internet. we didn't have everything archived, everything on video. >> camera phones. >> camera phones. everything is immediately there, and it's pervasive and cataloged, right? you could make little mistakes. romney has made a lot of mistakes that are now part of the record, and it's burned into a lot of people's perceptions. and i think that this kind of mistake is the kind of mistake

that you're not as aware -- >> it's a miscalculated mistake. it wasn't like somebody asked him that while he was running to the plane. he got the mike in his hand. he knew he was going to give a speech. he certainly saw the 2009 op-ed in "the usa today." and he went out there and deliberately said something that he knew was not true. >> you want to hammer this home? not only did he -- i'll take it further. not only did he lie, his people, who we've questioned on this set -- not this set -- before in terms of how they helped prop him up, the situations they put him in, they just seem to be constantly letting him down. they shouldn't have let him do it. and then take it to the next level, does he think people are stupid? because that's insulting. >> willie, why couldn't he have said, listen, the heritage foundation, newt gingrich, a series of self-described people supported a national individual mandate. mine was a little different this way. he could have done something, but he went out there and

insulted mainly insulted the conservatives that he's trying to win over. >> the question was, will you, on your first day in office, work to repeal obamacare? we should lcisten to the clip s people know what we're talking about. >> i need an emphatic yes from you that you will repeal obamacare. >> why would i not? all right? >> i need to -- >> there's no -- there's no -- early on we were asked if what you did in massachusetts be something you'd have the federal government do? i said no from the very beginning. no. this is designed for our state and our circumstance. >> not from the very beginning. perhaps john harwood from the beginning of this campaign, but not from the beginning of his career in politics, as he said. >> absolutely. look, the guy at earlier points in his career had an entirely different political persona than he has now, but he's trapped in the intersection of his ambition with the way the republican party has changed, and how do you make that work?

i was talking to your old colleague, ben weber, the other day who's with romney. and he said, unfortunately, this process is now dominated by two beliefs. one is that in the conservative movement, the philosophic purity is the key to beating obama. and secondly, it's that the party needs to provide an ever-more clear contrast, and mitt romney is having to pay feelty to that belief. >> this isn't about ideology. this is about judgment. this is about character. this is about telling people something that is not true and that everybody in the audience, most likely, read the day before. that's, i guess, what's so confounding to me. >> well, there have been a lot of things that have been confounding in the campaign. and i think romney has -- look, every speech he says, obama goes around apologizing for america. that's not true.

but he is trying to hit the notes that he thinks that the republican party wants to hear in this campaign. >> same thing on iran. "new york times" has a very compelling story, are iran's policies pretty much the same as president's? >> he accuses the president of being jimmy carter in his piece. >> i think on candidates' skills, this is the answer he's been giving all along. the circumstances have changed, but he's still giving the same answer. >> as mika said, that is the staff that needs to take him aside and say, governor, this is what you're going to be asked, and this is how you need to respond. keep it to two sentences and move on. >> you genuinely think he's a good person, don't you? >> oh, i think he's a great person. i think he's a stiff, awkward candidate. i think he's a terrible candidate. i don't think he's good on his feet, and i think his staff let him down when they let him go out -- i will say, that's another thing about "game change," when you see -- >> how it works. >> they give him lines. if he isn't capable of talking off the top of his head, they

should give him lines and say, "repeat after me." >> let me ask you this question on the word "lie," which you're hung up on. what is the difference between a political fib or what my friend calls acceptable political hyperbole and a lie that you condemn somebody for? >> i think there are -- you talk about the iran policy. i could justify somebody saying that the president's been weak on iran. we can go back to what he said in the '08 campaign, we could go back to how he was silent in '09 while iranians were being shot in the street. there is that ambiguity. if you want to call that a political fib, you can. barack obama and every politician does that. in this case, mitt romney is talking about something that is objective, something that not somebody else wrote, something that he wrote in black and white and telling people, i never said that. that strikes me as, if we don't want to say a lie, then the old soviets used to say, deliberate

untruth. [ jennifer garner ] there's a lot of beautiful makeup out there. but one is so clever that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics.

♪ you got to believe ♪ yeah ♪ believe in yourself... ♪ [ female announcer ] weight watchers -- rated number one best plan for weight loss by u.s. news and world report, again. ♪ if you want it you got it ♪ you got to believe your turn. your time. your year.

join for free. weight watchers pointsplus 2012. because it works. join for free. this one's for all us lawnsmiths. grass gurus. doers. here's to more saturdays in the sun. and budgets better spent. here's to turning rookies - into experts, and shoppers into savers. here's to picking up. trading up. mixing it up. to well-earned muddy boots. and a lot more - spring per dollar. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. show the yard who's boss, with this cordless black and decker trimmer, just $84.97.

oh, tell us it's time, willie. >> it is. >> we need it. >> i think all of us who have been in relationships, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, whatever it may be, knows that you never, ever under any circumstances regardless of the point you're trying to make call your wife or girlfriend a heavyweight. mitt romney in youngstown, ohio, yesterday. >> no.

>> i introduce to you the heavyweight champion of my life -- i don't mean weight. that didn't come out right. she's just a great fighter is what i mean. >> if this goes on much longer, i will be the heavyweight champion. things are getting a little tight. this is what happens if you are on the campaign trail. we've been on this for a long time now. and you don't always get to eat like you like or exercise like you like. >> we know what he was trying to say, right, mika? the heavyweight, she's afighter. she's out there for the campaign. that's what he meant. >> exactly. dan senor from the council on foreign relations. also, eugene robinson. we're back in a moment. i love that my daughter's part fish.

but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

you name it...i've hooked it. but there's one... one that's always eluded me. thought i had it in the blizzard of '93. ha! never even came close. sometimes, i actually think it's mocking me. [ engine revs ] what?! quattro!!!!! ♪ hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira.

man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here.

it looks like it's going to be mitt romney's night. he has strong leads in massachusetts, vermont, virginia and idaho. no surprise, it's the potato state, and mitt is nothing, if not pale and starchy. from a purely mathematical standpoint, i and my fellow conservatives will evenally yield to the inevitablity of mitt romney. let's put the countdown to loving mitt clock up. how long i got? oh, god. 23 hours, 58 minutes. i can't breathe! jimmy, take it down. take it down. it's just bad luck for the bride

to see the man you agree to marry before you want to. >> welcome back to "morning joe." mark halperin and john heilman with still with us. and joining us, dan senor. dan, it's just not a fair fight. >> what do you mean? >> i'm going to try and get to the iran piece. >> you should. this is the issue -- this is the issue du jour. the prime minister and obama meet yesterday. the presidential candidates today. >> it's a big set, but you don't need to yell. >> yeah, you don't have to yell. i'm trying to bring up the individual mandate in the "usa today." and i'm also trying to talk about his 2006 human events where he talks about his health care plan in massachusetts, quote, changing the national paradigm. >> it's not a fair fight. >> but you don't want to talk about it. you want to talk about iran instead. and that's smart. >> it will probably be one of the defining issues of this election, iran. iran.

iran. and i just think we should focus on the issues. we should focus on the issues du jour. >> it's kind of embarrassing, isn't it? he goes out there and says, i never said what i said. >> well -- >> very good. >> mika has an op-ed she wants to focus on. >> i do. it's on romney's piece in "the washington post." >> he doesn't want to talk about the individual mandate. >> he doesn't. >> that it lacks strategic vision. but we'll read it later. >> that was a tease, okay. >> i'd like to bring in from washington the pulitzer prize-winning columnist of "the washington post," msnbc contributor, eugene robinson. >> it's great to talk to you this morning. thanks for being here. >> great to be here. >> before we go to the health care, let's just set up the day. >> shall we? it's just not a fair fight. >> no, he's not going to fight. he knows that his candidate is -- >> i think that you need to find the perfect words to describe, though. i think it was a little harsh. >> after months of campaigning,

the biggest single day in the republican presidential race is here, mika, with 11 states and over 400 delegates up for grabs. much of the focus today is on the key battleground state of ohio. >> and as of now, the number suggests the buckeye state is anyone's game. three different polls in the last 24 hours show mitt romney and rick santorum in a statistical tie in ohio. both candidates spent yesterday in the state in a last-ditch campaigning effort push before the polls open this morning. >> newt gingrich has dropped in the polls since january. he's winning south carolina, is hoping to mount another comeback today by finishing strong in the south. the former speaker is focusing his efforts on his home state of georgia which awards 76 delegates which is going to be the biggest haul of the day. >> drama. according to a cnn opinion poll, gingrich has 47% support in georgia. that's over a 20-point lead on his competition. gingrich won't vote or win in his current home state of virginia because he's not on the ballot. mitt romney and ron paul are the only remaining candidates who

qualified to be on the ballot which means that likely romney will take that state. >> okay. so we're going to -- dan, let's go to you first. and if you want to just pass on this health care individual mandate, you can just say pass and then i'll go to gene and then we'll come back. >> you should pass. >> pass. i'm going to pass for now. pass. let's hopefully move on to the issues du jour which really is iran. i'll let you and gene have your fun, do your thing, do your dance. >> i'm torn between wanting it hammer dan on iran, which i can't figure out why he wants to talk about, and as if i'm from the romney campaign on health care. there's a difference between a federal mandate, a federal model and a national model. and, look, i think mitt romney has a world of political trouble on health care -- >> there's a difference between federal and a national model. >> you could argue -- >> are we now dancing on the heads of --

>> there are two ways -- >> i want you to listen to what you just said. there's a difference between a national model and a federal model. >> there is. a national model is something that other states could do. a federal model is something the federal government would do. and you can say in massachusetts, here's what we did to control health care costs. the federal government needs to control health care costs, too, some way. look, i think, as i say, he has a world of problem on health care, and i'd like to hear governor romney explain that. >> i would like to back up dr. halperin. >> in a second. >> dr. halperin, a model for other states versus a one size fits all for the country. it's a big table. it's a big table. >> it's like the cell phone. >> hold on a second, gene. let me explain this, gene, for everybody at home now experiencing pain in their teeth because of what mark halperin just said. dr. halperin. so mitt's coming under fire who what he said in a 2009 op-ed

arguing the massachusetts health care plan he enacted could be used as a model for the country. and this is what he said. he said the president could learn from the plan he enacted as governor of massachusetts. and -- >> here we go. >> -- this is while obamacare was being debated. first, we established incentives for those who were uninsured to buy insurance, using tax penalties as we did or tax credits as others have proposed encourages free riders to take responsibility for themselves rather than pass their medical costs on to others. that's the individual mandate. this wasn't the only time he spoke in favor of the individual mandate. in 2006 in an interview with human events, he was asked whether his health care plan should go national. and this is what romney said. i think what we've crafted changes the national paradigm. it shows that you can insist on individual responsibility and market reforms to get everybody insured. personal responsibility and market reforms get the markets to work for all citizens.

of course, gene, though, this is what he had to say yesterday at a town hall meeting in youngs torna youngstown, ohio. >> i need an emphatic yes from you that you will repeal obamacare. >> why would i not, all right? >> i need to -- >> there's no -- there's no -- early on we were asked, is what you've done in massachusetts something you'd have the entire government do, the federal government do? i said no. from the very beginning. no. this is designed for our state and our circumstance. >> all right. of course, all republicans are going after mitt romney now. gene robinson, it sure sounds like an individual mandate to me, and it certainly sounds that way to just about everybody else but dr. halperin. >> yeah, it sounds that way to me, too. if you're going to give advice to the president, you're presumably not giving advice to the president about what the state of, say, missouri could do or the state of california could do. you know, what does he have to do with that? i think halperin, you know, i

would have him checked medically. the difference between national and federal, there's a technical difference, but come on. you know, the context is that mitt romney invented obamneobam as tim pawlenty once called it. i was wrong, as he has said, and i did support it as a national program, but i think that's a bad idea now. he could say that. >> there's two things conflated there. one is, was it a mistake in massachusetts? he doesn't think that. he said contemporaneously to these things, roughly, he didn't think it should be a national model. look, if you ask me for my honest opinion rather than to just have an interesting debate here on the set, these things are problematic and probably reflect his view. but if you just read them literally, there is a way to explain them that's not an absolute smoking gun. it's not really -- again, it's

not really what i think, but i don't want this to have a one-sided argument. >> john, you've got to give your co-author credit for at least trying. >> all i would say to mark is to make those arguments, and there probably are dancing on the head kind of arguments, you'd have to be a very adept and skilled candidate. in the big picture here is bad for romney, and he's not done a great job getting himself out of this box. he managed to for a long time when no one was challenging him in a forthright way. the combination of rick santorum being able to make this case against him aggressively and this op-ed now coming out is not going to stop him from getting the nomination probably, but it is going to make it very hard for him to prosecute an anti-obamacare argument if he's the nominee. >> especially if you go back to 2009, he's giving advice to president obama to use tax penalties to force an individual mandate. >> and in the end, that's the only relevant issue because as

we said, he is almost likely certain to be the republican nominee. and then the question is will this issue be on the table? mark may be right, you might be able to parse it, but parsing is not going to be effective against the president. it's going to be a moot issue for republicans in the fall. >> the big issue is one that john brought up earlier. why did it take so long for this information to come out? the race is, in effect, over. as i said yesterday, we can all go to barbados for the next couple months. mitt romney has won this race. >> no, it's dramatic, it's a cliff-hanger. >> that's going to happen tonight. why is it that it wasn't until the end of this process that this information came out in >> you know, that's a very good question. you would think that people would, like, read the clips on the candidate, and this would come out. i mean, look. we thought we knew the basic setup, though. we knew what he had done in massachusetts. and so this is kind of, in the larger sense, a detail that

is -- it's a detail of the bigger picture which is that this is the health care system he invented. this is the health care system he put in place. and he thought was dandy. he still thinks was dandy for massachusetts. but now says it's rotten for the rest of the country. >> okay. you. >> you know, that's a difficult argument to make, i think, but he's going to have to make it. >> it's a fair fight. >> i don't think at this point he can make it, and that is the biggest problem is that he hid behind states' rights which a lot of conservatives would say yes, let the states figure out what is best for them. you have 50 legislative laboratories. but this "usa today" op-ed especially shows him giving the president advice to adopt his individual mandate nationally. and game over on using health care reform as a big issue in the fall. >> it will be kind of tough. iran could be a big issue. >> your candidate, mitt romney. >> joe actually and i kind of

agree, i think, unlike on this health care issue. >> i hope not because before i get to the actual full screen, mitt romney has this op-ed in "the washington post," "how i would check iran's nuclear ambition." besides calling obama the most feckless president, he would increase military assistance to israel and then goes on to say this. "my plan includes restoring the regular presence of aircraft carrier groups in the eastern mediterranean and the persian gulf region simultaneously. it also includes increasing military assistance to israel and improved coordination with all of our allies in the area. we can't afford to wait much longer, and we certainly can't afford to wait through four more years of an obama administration. by then it will be far too late. if the iranians are permitted to get the bomb, the consequences will be as uncontrollable as they are horrendous. my foreign policy plan to avert this catastrophe is plain. either the ayatollahs will get

the message, or they will learn some very painful lessons about the meaning of american resolve. >> there's a lot -- a lot in that cake, a lot of ingredients, but i want to start first with something that jumped out at me. i would call president obama many things, but i would not call him feckless on foreign policy, considering he tripled the number of troops in afghanistan, which i oppose, considering that he is doing drone strikes in at least four to five countries where we are not at war, that he put a bullet through osama bin laden's right eye, that he called the raid when all of his aides were suggesting it was too dangerous. you wouldn't call president obama feckless on foreign policy. >> he sat in 2009 and watched the dissident movement get crushed by the iranian regime. he's watching assad crush the opposition with syria with over 7,000 dead, and the chinese and the russians holding things up in the u.n. security council. and saying the u.s. can't do

anything. the u.s. can't do anything unless china and russia get on board with the u.n. security council. i guess during the campaign, the rhetoric gets hot. we could argue that obama's hand on foreign policy has been uneven. there have been positive actions that you have cited, but largely on these big issues, and right now on iran, he's being outmatched by events. >> leaving aside the fact, quite arguable, that everything that romney is proposing on iran being done by the white house, for a presidential candidate who may well be the republican nominee to say that if my opponent, the incumbent wins, iran will get a nuclear weapon, can you possibly defend that except as political rhetoric which is dangerous to the country? >> i think right now what obama is asking is nothing new. i just want to put this in context because it's important. obama is saying to netanyahu, don't worry about military action. let our diplomacy and sanctions play out. if diplomacy and sanctions don't work, quote, unquote, we've got your back. if you're the prime minister of israel and you've been subjected to the record of the last three

years that obama has subjected israel to, are you prepared to outsource national security decisions, decisions that could -- you have to defend against an existential threat, a potential nuclear threat, are you prepared to outsource those decisions to barack obama? that's a decision for the israeli prime minister to say, and what mitt romney is saying is, i'm going to stand four square right next, lock arms -- no, he's not. has obama made an ironclad -- this is important. obama has said, let diplomacy play out. the israelis and the americans know that if they let diplomacy play out, it could reach a point -- the time line could expire during which the israelis have the military capability to conduct a military strike against iran. that's a fact. israel has certain bunker-busting capabilities, but not the ones the americans have. so nine, ten months past where you get into a zone of immunity, then obama -- >> you're not answering my question, though. is it at all responsible for someone who might be the

republican nominee and may be president to say about his opponent, if he wins, we'll live in a world where iran has nuclear weapons? is that responsible? >> i actually think it's accurate. i think what obama -- i think what obama is saying -- they're giving me the cue. >> no, no, keep going. >> i think it's accurate in this sense. obama has said in his first year of office, before his first year of office, i'm going to reach out without preconditions. i'm going to outstretch hand. you know, we're going to get to the table, we're going to talk. that failed. june 2009, dissident movement, once in a lifetime opportunity for regime change in iran, obama watched it, didn't do anything. incident after incident after incident in dealing aggressively with iran. he fought sanctions. the israelis and the americans have gotten nowhere. iran is still strong. romney is saying, based on obama's three-year record, it looks to me like if obama stays in power, iran will likely develop a nuclear capability. now the americans --

>> he didn't say it lightly. >> gene robinson, does it seem like everybody's ganging up on dan this morning? >> it's par for the course when i come on this show. >> dan is a fine fellow, but this is -- >> he always prefaces it by saying something like that. >> -- in an insulting case to make. joe ran down president obama's real record on foreign policy. there is no way you can call him feckless. there is no way you can call him weak or unaggressive in his foreign policy. >> he has seen an opposition in damascus. >> dan, what would you do? what would you be doing right now in syria to tip the balance that the administration isn't doing now? would you order the same kind of air strikes that were ordered in libya where you had an opposition that had a headquarters in benghazi and could march on tripoli because the regime was disintegrated? >> let me respond to that

question. you're asking me what i would have done. hillary clinton, in tunis last week, said there's not much we can do. our hands are tied because we can't get support from the u.n. security council. so she's basically saying we're observers until the security council blesses any action. by the way, is the exact opposite position her husband took in the balkans. if things didn't work in the u.n., the u.s. worked outside of the u.n. i'm saying immediately we could be arming and funding and training opposition forces inside syria. >> this is the same argument that was made in libya, whom do you arm, and who is the opposition, and what sort of arms do you give them? this is a ridiculous case to make. there isn't a great policy in syria. if there were, you'd have something better to say than, gee, let's give some arms to these guys and see what happens. you know what's going to happen. unless we give them tanks, it's not going to tip -- not going to

tip the balance. in fact, it is a dangerous, i think, and insulting thing to say about a sitting president. >> so gene, i will try to, even though i usually disagree with him on foreign policy issues, i'll move to dan's side for a second here and ask you a question. how can you draw a consistent line on foreign policy between what the president did in libya and what the president is not doing in syria? because from a distance, the only difference seems to be oil reserves. >> well, but the other difference is the capability and the degree of control that the regime has in the country, the gadhafi regime was falling apart. and remember, at the moment, marching on benghazi, the syrian regime, unfortunately, is not falling apart. there's a whole apparatus there. there's a whole geopolitical

context in which yes, you've got iran to deal with when you're dealing with syria, and we have other issues with iran. we don't necessarily want to blunder into a conflict that we don't want while at the same time we're trying to remain focused on the iranian nuclear threat and the iranian terrorist threat throughout the world. there are very complicated considerations here that were not there in the case of libya. >> for the final word, the overmatched dan senor, and dan, wrap it up quickly. >> gene, real quick, when hillary clinton, in addition to the u.n. not supporting us, she cited the fact that our intelligence community doesn't know enough about the opposition which always is an excuse for not doing anything. if we dedicated real assets to understanding who the opposition is and getting behind the right people, we could probably do it. if we use that as an excuse, it will become a vacuum and bad

apples will fill it. we need to demonstrate that they are serious. they need to demonstrate they are serious. if they demonstrate they are serious, we'll support them. how can they be serious if we don't lock arms with them? >> all right, dan. >> you're cleared for landing, dan. >> they're yelling at me, you know. >> did you ever make it for the luggage? >> i did not. >> we'll get back to that. eugene robinson -- >> don't go home? >> it's a sore subject. and you had to bring it home, which means it's going to live. >> he messed up bad at home. >> by the way, campbell was on "game change." >> she was. she was awesome. >> it's hard to find anybody who has a news program on "game change" other than us. gene robinson, thanks for being with us. we appreciate it. your column is in "the washington post" today. and still ahead, she plays sarah palin in "game change." julianne moore joins us now, and also the director and executive producer, jay roach.

next, we have chuck todd in the studio. he's going to break down what you and your family need to watch for tonight. >> he looks a little tired. >> those termites that are creeping slowly. >> you look tired, chuck. it's going to be a long day. >> he looks good. he looks good. [ male announcer ] is zero worth nothing? ♪ imagine zero pollutants in our environment. or zero dependency on foreign oil. ♪ this is why we at nissan built a car inspired by zero. because zero is worth everything. the zero gas, 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all.

innovation for the planet. ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? we could eat whatever we wanted and still lose weight. weight watchers online was so easy. you look up a food, you eat the food, you track the food. weight -- comes right off. you have lipstick on your teeth. ok. got it. using the recipe builder, i'm making 2 point enchiladas that will blow your mind. together, we lost 71 pounds with weight watchers online. quit dancing. i didn't do it... [ female announcer ] join for free today. weight watchers online.

finally, losing weight clicks.

i think as long as we're talking about the economy and jobs and by the way, shrinking the deficit, we're winning. when we're talking about all sorts of other issues that come up, all these extraneous ideas, that puts us behind. focus on the economy. that's where the president has failed the american people, and they know it. >> all right. >> let's talk about that. >> 28 past the hour. here with us now, nbc chief white house correspondent and

host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd. >> you made the desk look a little less -- >> we hate this desk. >> hello? >> i'm yelling and then joe's sitting there off camera going, "cool it. cool it." >> mark and i are signing to communicate. >> but mika said it's like cell phones. you don't need to yell. >> we have a microphone. simmer down. >> am i really yelling? >> you keep yelling. you're screaming. call your wife and get direction from her because you sure aren't listening to us. >> small coffee, too. >> he can't go home. >> use your inside voice. >> really upset. i asked for a grande. you gave me this. >> it is a little man's coffee. >> i'm lack toes intolerant. >> there's a lot of intolerance going on. >> he's cute. >> on the far right side of the table. >> adorable. >> dan has been going on and on about iran, but we've been debating mostly this morning mitt romney going out yesterday going oh, no, no, no, i was

never for a national mandate, a federal mandate. >> well, what has struck me about this conversation -- and it feels as if it's almost democrats, somebody restigated this and got it back into the bloodstream -- but how is it he's gone through this whole primary without litigating health care? he has never had to do it. perry never did it to him. gingrich never did it to him. santorum only in the last 72 hours has been trying with the assist of when this 2009 op-ed was brought to their attention when you're thinking, hello? >> here in march. >> which to me ought to disqualify the santorum campaign right there. if you didn't have it -- if you weren't ready with your litigating this specific issue. >> how did they not have that? >> and nobody's -- so in many ways, these guys mechanically have disqualified themselves from defeating romney for their inability to challenge him. >> john, you made the same argument last hour. >> just not an obscure thing.

this is an op-ed three years ago from "usa today." the most idiotic drunk, unpaid intern with a lexus nexus account should have been able to find this. and the fact that apparently there were no drug idiotic interns available on any other campaigns makes you wonder, what were they doing? and it's not like the notion of romneycare was not seen as a vulnerability from the beginning. everybody talks about it all last year. it just seems like the incompetence level -- i actually think romney should win the nomination now by default on the basis this is being brought up so late because it shows that the rest of his rivals were completely incompetent. >> he's never had to run -- has he run an ad -- mark, correct me if i'm wrong -- has romney had to run an ad defending himself? >> no. >> so the fact he hasn't had to do it shows you his opponents have done a horrible job. >> he gave a speech in ann ar r arbor, university of michigan, where he actually said i'm sticking by romneycare, and he laid out why.

it had the effect -- you may argue that it was the bad effect, the wrong effect -- but it had the effect of taking the issue off the table so it wouldn't be litigated in 30-second ads. it got actually litigated in a substantive way. and here we are a year later asking, and there hasn't. has there ever been an ad run in defense of romneycare. >> the speech was a very good speech, and it had that effect. it had a positive political effect, but it didn't answer these questions. and you would have thought, on another campaign, you would have heard that peach and okay, let's poke holes in that speech, and no one seems to have done that. >> the issue with the mandate for a lot of conservatives, it's been mandate. >> republicans who say, you know, romneycare means the issue of obamacare is off the table for the general election, that's not a talking point. that is potentially a reality because the president is going to be armed with so many things to say in debates and on the stump about romney and health care. and romney doesn't -- has not exhibited any capacity to handle that kind of attack.

>> any attack made against the president for his health care plan, the debate should have a copy of the "usa today" on the podium and say -- >> thanks for the idea. >> -- let me read from your 2009 where you actually gave me the idea. you know, we've had david axelrod on saying -- we thought a little mischievous at the time, but he may be right, crediting mitt romney for obamacare. or obamne krchlobamneycare. despite the blunder yesterday on the campaign trail in youngstown, ohio, he should lock it down tonight, right? >> every time when we think that, isn't that when the floor collapses from underneath romney? every time it looks like he's just about to become inevitable, the nominee to be, or my favorite thing now, the inevitable rominee, somebody

tweeted me. could santorum finish ohio and tennessee, finish second in georgia? that's a good night for santorum. keep romney under 200 delegates. there are ways -- >> if romney gets to 200 delegates, it's a good night? >> i think it's a very good night for him. if he gets over 200 delegates, it probably means he finished perhaps second in georgia, probably means when the primaries he won, he won with huge numbers, 50%, 60% in the northeast, maybe even 50% in idaho, maybe winning north dakota. but then either -- we know he's going to get a majority of the delegates out of ohio already. he is virtually guaranteed that because of santorum's inability on those three congressional districts. you know, close second in tennessee or a win in tennessee, and you would think that that turns the lights out on santorum. >> are you hearing panic from the republican party still? >> no, not the same way. now that he got michigan. >> they're ready to coalesce? >> they're ready to get this

over with. you saw our poll. republicans are -- they're tired of this. they're tired of this primary. >> you guys hearing the same thing in. >> it seems republicans are more panicked now. it's like my god, we're just killing ourselves here. >> let's stop. >> very important "politico" story today about how some people in the party, donors and strategi strategists, we've got to save the house, figure out if we can take back the senate, and that fight over resources romney needs to end this soon and show strength is for the big super pacs and bundlers and say we're going to try to win the presidential. we're not going to go with the george wills strategy. >> they're two very rich republicans that the establishment's going to have to go talk to. is somebody ready to fly to las vegas? are a group of people ready, dan, to fly to las vegas? >> they already have, many times. >> you were killing us, and then also going to frooiese and sayi

the same thing. >> the resources eclipse the resources that they've dedicated. he said it publicly so we can talk about it, he said he's willing to spend $100 million on this election to defeat obama. a fraction would go to gingrich. he wants gingrich in the debate. he's a friend but he's not going to be irresponsible and keep spending to the point that it actually undermines. >> newt gingrich is calling for another debate. he wants in still. >> it's not just the billionaires. think about -- a lot of things in the republican party come back to karl rove. is american crossroads going to play into the election? >> here's what they're going to do, i think, is watch this carefully. they'll play in virginia. they'll play in florida and ohio. why? because off of those have winnable senate races. i think when you watch crossroads, that's what i'd be watching for. will they actually play in a state without a major senate race? without an impact on --

>> so they're going to obsess on the house and senate. >> i think more on the senate frankly than the house. there are other parts of this that will -- when the romney super pacs done -- >> incumbents will have an easier time raising money. senate challengers in the minority will have a hard time. >> that's tonight. kucinich was accused of being pro-war by captor. >> kucinich is a neoyocon. >> he voted for a bill that funded some troop's lunch in iraq. >> chuck todd, thank you. we'll see you on "the daily rundown" right after "morning joe." hope you get some sleep. coming up, art imitates life. >> i guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer except that you have actual responsibilities.

>> i guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer except that you have actual responsibilities. >> the star of the new hbo film "game change," julianne moore joins us on set. "morning joe" will be right back. i knew it'd be tough on our retirement savings, especially in this economy. but with three kids, being home more really helped. man: so we went to fidelity. we talked about where we were and what we could do. we changed our plan and did something about our economy. now we know where to go for help if things change again. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy.

get free one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. ♪ [ male announcer ] the dodge journey was made to explore the real world. it has under-seat storage to bring everything, available seating for up to seven people to take everyone, and the grip of available all-wheel drive to go everywhere. think of it as a search engine helping you browse the real world. this march, get no extra charge third-row seating plus 0% financing on dodge journey. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ?

ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

41 past the hour. after a year of devastating attacks by syrian president bashar al assad's military forces, senator john mccain is calling for an expanded military presence inside syria to assist pro-democracy rebels. >> it is understandable that the administration is reluck tantd to move beyond diplomacy and sanctions. unfortunately, this policy is increasingly disconnected from the dire conditions on the ground in syria which has become a full-blown state of armed conflict. the united states should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in syria, especially in the north, through

air strikes on assad's forces. >> mccain, who was an early advocate for u.s.-led air strikes in libya, is calling for a similar campaign in syria, saying intervention is necessary to prevent more civilians from being killed. the obama administration says it will continue to squeeze the assad regime through sanctions and international pressure on other countries to join the coalition against the syrians. >> dan, i don't want to talk about my good friend gene when he's away, but i agree with him on an awful lot of things. i didn't quite understand, though, when gene said that assad's regime was strong and that somehow more stable than what we saw in libya six months ago. that's just -- >> assad is completely isolated. >> he's teetering. he's isolated. >> he's got the arab league against him. >> in fact, he is a minority in his own country and has been for years. this is a man who could fall in a couple of weeks. >> right. and it would be a huge strategic

blow to iran. people forget, assad's regime is iran's only arab ally. assad's regime is iran's only ally on the port of the mediterranean. it's assad's only way to arm and fund hezbollah. it's a huge blow to tehran. so leaving aside the human catastrophe in syria which is real and horrifying, if you just look at from a strategic standpoint, america has such an interest in striking a blow against tehran, and there would be no bigger blow in the short term than the fall of assad. >> if you look across the middle east right now, mark halperin, and you look at the map, the united states, unbelievably, after ten years of war where we hear the arab spring hates us, we actually only have two enemies left in the middle east, iran and syria. if you take syria off the table, as senator mccain is suggesting, and if you take out a regime -- because people say, well, we don't know who's going to replace assad. well, we didn't know who was

going to replace gadhafi. but we know this. they're not going to cuddle up to a shia regime. it will be sunnis in syria that will be running that country. and iran will be isolated in the middle east, and they will be isolated in the world. >> we didn't know what the new regime in egypt was going to be like either, and that's not worked out exactly as we would have liked. i think the administration has taken a difficult situation and shown patience and i think they're doing it in syria now. they want the same thing dan wants there. i think it's the incumbent of the administration to have to show a little patience. >> do you think it was a mistake for the president to say assad must go and then have the secretary of state in tunis say he must go, do you think it was a mistake to jump the gun? >> getting the arab league on board is a big deal. coming up next, we're going to continue this conversation. we'll talk to the former chief of staff to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu when "morning joe" comes right back. >> it will be a fascinating conversation. [ male announcer ] for the saver, and a big first step.

for the spender who needs a little help saving. for adding "& sons." for the dreamer, planning an early escape. for the mother of the bride. for whoever you are, for whatever you're trying to achieve, pnc has technology, guidance, and over 150 years of experience to help you get there.

♪ i get congested. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. in here, 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.

♪ delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast.

the best ingredient is love. when that iranian icbn is flying through the air to a location near you, you've got nothing to worry about. it's only carrying medical isotopes. ladies and gentlemen, if it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then what is it? what is it? that's right. it's a duck. but this duck is a nuclear duck. and it's time the world started calling a duck a duck. >> okay. 48 past the hour. here with us now, former chief

of staff for benjamin netanyahu. thanks for being us. >> five on one, six on one. you guys have to fly them in from abroad. >> this is the american-israeli alliance in action. >> talk about the prime minister's speech yesterday. >> i mean, i think this week we've made tremendous progress in the sense that obama, for the first time, made clear that preventing an iranian nuclear weapon -- >> he says that he has israel's back. do you believe the president? >> well, the bad news is that words in washington don't stop centrifuges in natanz because during this very week, chief inspector amano, u.n. inspector, reported that iran has tripled the pace of production of 20% grade uranium. they're transferring their facilities underground to be immune. and they're racing towards acquiring a nuclear weapon. the words aren't going to stop them. the current sanction regime will

not do the job. >> does this move your former boss, prime minister netanyahu, one step closer to taking military action against iran? >> well, there's still one last chance to overt an attack, and that's if america and the world immediately implement devastating sanctions that will bring iran's regime to the brink of a collapse. that's the one thing that can prevent the need for attack, but we're not there. the current sanctions -- the most important of them are only going to play in in june. we ought not to be waiting for june. we should do it right now. >> hmm. dan senor? >> if the sanctions don't work, if diplomacy doesn't work, the clock could run out to the point where israel doesn't have the military capability to conduct a successful strike against iran and delay the nuclear program. there any precedent for an israeli prime minister -- because at what point, by the way, it's in america's hands. either america takes care of

iran or no one takes tear of iran -- any precedent for an israeli prime minister to outsource that kind of decision-making to an american president about an issue of existential security for security jinchts absolutely not. israel's short history taught us a very clear lesson subpoena . we have to depend on ourselves. while america is our biggest and best friend, we cannot outsource or national security and our very existence to the united states. you were talking a lot about syria, just note. israel allegedly in 2007 bombed syria's nuclear reactor. if we hadn't done the job of the world back then, just imagine what it would be looking like right now if assad, while on his way down, has two or three nuclear weapons? he's use them. he's got nothing to lose. it's a win-win. either you get the syrian nation behind you, or if you're going to die, die proudly as the guy who destroyed the jewish nation. >> there are many americans who teal we're being slowly now more

quickly being led down the path to war by israel in iran. what would israel expect of the united states from a military point of view? what kind of involvement would israel want from the united states, if you do decide to go ahead and strike sites inside iran? >> let me be very clear. israel has never in its history asked america to send troops defend us. never. we've asked for ammunition, financial support. never and we're not asking that right now. moreover, it's quite the opposite. israel is stepping up to the plate and defending the world. we did it in '81 in the iraq war, condemned by the entire world and then a decade later everyone praised us. syria where we originally took out the original reactor. everyone praised us. no one's leading america down the path. israel might have to step up to the plate and, yeah, we will need your cover primarily paralyzing sanctions the day after. because we might be able to slow down iran by two or three year, but it's got to be combined with

paralyzing sanctions that will prevent iran from recovering. >> but this is not 1981, obviously. we're in 2012, and iran is not iraq. >> that's right. >> do you have the technology to launch air strikes that will actually denigrate their weapon systems enough to prevent development of nuclear weapons in iran? >> joe, the answer, the short answer is, we can slow them down dramatically, but it has to be combined with sustained sanctions on iran so they won't be able to recover. so an attack alone won't do the job. an attack combined with a very determined world to prevent them from recovering will do the job. >> so you talk about crippling sanctions. do you think president obama has been aggressive enough in pushing for those crippling sanctions? >> i think the current sanctions are way too slow and soft to stop iran. sanctions will only go into play in june are going to stop iran?

look, guys, this has been the crown jewel project of iran for the past 15 years. they've invested billions of dollars. their own reputation. tremendous efforts. they're at the 99 yardline. they're not giving up because of feeble sanctions. that's what we're seeing now. one way to do it, immediately, today. apply devastating sanctions, paralyzing sanctions, on iran has might, just might, bring they are leaders to abandon the nuclear program. >> so with your prime minister, prime minister netanyahu, would he agree to the following deal? we send to israel, get him out of the u.s. -- >> that's a great start. >> but you need to come also. >> naftali bennett, thank you so much. >> do it! >> we'll be right back. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira.

man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here.

four walls and a roof is a structure. what's inside is a home. home protector plus from liberty mutual insurance, where the cost to both repair your house and replace what's inside are covered. so your life can settle right back into place. to learn more, visit libertymutual.com today. i was strong before weight watchers, but i'm stronger with it.

i believe because it works. ♪ if you want it, you got it join for free. weight watchers points plus 2012. because it works.

your finances can't manage themselves.

but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. [ chuckles ] turn right. come on -- nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh. how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks, so we're celebrating with our safety in numbers event. that's the power of german engineering. right now, lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month.

i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense?

well, i don't know why i came here tonight ♪ good morning. it's 8:00 a.m. on super tuesday. take a live look at new york city. back with mark halperin and john harwood. the game change boys. >> boot legs from china. >> exciting. >> the "game change" boot legs have already hit the shores of -- >> get it on canal street. >> stay off canal street, joe. >> i got it on canal street. >> your bag down there, too? >> yeah -- no. it's a movie. >> i saw the movie. without giving anything away, i thought it was astounding what sarah palin went through.

and we never realized it. you know, there's that moment, mika, where they're afraid she's breaking down mentally. and they go to arizona, have the doctor there. and so how's she doing? and the doctor goes, okay, well, let's see, for a woman who is in middle of what she's in the middle of, who just had a baby, who just found out that her teenage daughter is pregnant, who has a son fighting in the iraq war being shot at every day, and she's dealing with all of you guys -- she's doing really well. and that's the thing, mika, that puts you in the perspective. we were talking about this after the movie. >> hmm. >> i've seen you out on the road away from your daughters for two weeks, and you start to lose your equilibrium. >> absolutely. i mean, i actually watched it and i really felt a great deal of sympathy for her.

when i worked overnights and i left them every night i was far crazier. it's very hard to leave small, small children a the home and go work. just feels wrong. just feels wrong. >> did you guys, as were you writing this book, how much did you factor in, talking about "game change" world premiere is -- >> saturday night at 9:00 on hbo. >> saturday night at 9:00 on hbo. >> well done. >> let me just say, as a guy that has been in politics, and on a much smaller level has been staffed. >> uh-huh. >> i don't know that i would -- i don't know that i would want my staff members through the years that were hostile to me, as steve schmidt and others were hostile to zrp sarah palizr sar time that campaign was over, to frame my career in congress. i don't think that would be fair. how much did you guys factor that in? how did you make sure that this was not -- by the way, i hate to

jump around here. woody haralson? seriously? oh, my god. what a performance. ed harris. what a performance. julianne moore, what a performance. i seriously -- people are going to watch this and know i'm not sucking up to you guys. i think -- you forget that woody haralson is woody haralson. >> it's amazing. so great. >> do you want to mention julianne moore will be here later today? >> yes. julianne moore's going to be here later today. when i heard, how do you "game change"? we know these people so well, you forget they are hollywood actors. anyway, to go back to what we were talking about there. how are you guys making sure you didn't have steve schmidt, a guy i like, a guy embittered towards sarah palin frame this negative to sarah palin? >> hard to do. we have sources to this day very

loyal to her and their stories matched up. there was no danger not just in the parts in the book about sarah palin but throughout the book, write about everybody in the book, no danger. we were always talking to people who had perspective across the board and people to this day very loyal and proud of what she did, and the proof's in the pudding. the book and the movie, it's not a negative portrayal of her. the most balanced and accurate portrayal we think that been out. >> i think it's sympathetic. >> there are parts sarah palin is not going to like. but, you know, these are parts as i was explaining, as we were talking after the movie, i was explaining to my wife, i said, you're upset with her because she wasn't prepared substantively. well, that's not sarah palin's fault. that was the fault of the people who selected her and put her there. considering what she came to that campaign with, it's extraordinary. looking back it made me just --

just blew me away even more how well she did at the convention. how she vived. >> five days' notice she might be on the ticket. >> an ideological point. you know, the book and the movie talk about things where she rose to the occasion and more than rose to the occasion, exceeded any expectation and other places she fell short. some were her adviser's fault and the book at least did that with every character in the book. it did it around john mccain, mitt romney and barack obama and hillary clinton and john edwards. there is you know, we occasionally in the last couple weeks heard criticism from people who say this celeste wing -- the book was some left wing democratic thing. you go back and read the book, there were no -- we pulled no punches throughout the book nor did we try to be hitting everybody mercilessly. that include sarah palin. to mark's point, that meant talking to everybody in the mccain and palin world who had a lot of contact with her.

the people who loved her and had less positive feeling for her by the end of the campaign. we took that into account. what that's what we do. >> let me ask you a more broad question. why the movie focuses only on sarah palin when there was a lot on the other side? >> only a two-hour movie. you can only tell one story. they originally wanted to tell the story of president obama and hillary clinton. the script done teased out the fact. you couldn't tell that in two hours. too long a period of time. so it really was matter of movie production. what story can you tell in two hours? the palin story, governor palin was on the ticket 60 days, and the -- the greatness of that narrative what we all call a great american story, was easy to tell from a production point of view and a great compelling story. someone who had never been on the national stage plucked from security and put at the center of this. how she was chosen and then how she dealt with it and the

implications of the pick. it's a great story, tellable in two hours. >> mika, not only a great story how she was picked. it's really -- by the way, i wasn't even going to talk about this. we were going to go straight to the news. this is how good the movie is. you just get into it and start talking about it. actually, it's a three-part play. first, it's the selection. she gets hammered. then goes out and gives that speech, you're like, wow. and everybody's high fiving, and you're up here. and then they find out that there are some things she just doesn't know about. especially on foreign policy and the disasters, katie couric interview, she's melting down and you think it saul ovis all d that finished well with her doing well in the debate and then part three, a really exciting part. >> the end is incredible. i thought i wouldn't be surprised by it. >> i think one of the more telling parts is when she turned around to woody haralson and said, hey, with all due respect to senator mccain who she showed a great amount of respect to, they're coming out here to see

me. i'm out drawing biden. i'm out drawing mccain. i'm going to run -- i'm going to do what i want to do. it's when she realized that she was the star, and that she had a lot of people around her that did not have her best interests at heart. >> we'll be talking to the star of the movie julianne moore a little bit later. we do need to get to news. it is super tuesday. after months of campaigning in the republican presidential race, the biggest day is sheer. 11 states, and up for grabs, much of the focus on the key battleground state of ohio. as of now the numbers suggest the buckeye state is anyone's game. three different polls in the last 24 hours show mitt romney and rick santorum in a statistical tie in ohio. both candidates spent yesterday in the state in a last campaign push before the polls open this morning. newt gingrich who has dropped in the polls since his january win in south carolina is hoping to mount another comeback today by

finishing strong in the south the former speaker is focusing his efforts in his home state of georgia, which awards 76 delegates. the biggest hull of the day. according to a cnn research poll, gingrich has 47% support in georgia. over a 20-point lead on competition. gingrich won't vote or win in his current home state of virginia because he is not on the ballot. mitt romney and ron paul are the only remaining candidates who qualified to be on the ballot there, which likely means romney will take the stage and as the primary season continues, former first lady barbara bush is speaking out against the state of u.s. politics. this is what she said in part -- "i think it's the worse campaign i've ever seen in my life." >> god bless her. >> "i hate that people think compromise is a dirty word. it's not a dirty word." mrs. bush has been campaigning for mitt romney, and her husband, former president george h.w. bush, unofficially endorsed

romney late last year. >> so break it down for us, guys. start with you, john. tonight -- mitt romney what does he have to do to lock this thing up? >> well, i think that the conventional wisdom focusing on ohio is probably right. i think he -- he is as mark was saying yesterday on the show, the most likely republican nominee by a long way under any circumstances short of some weird tsunami. >> does ohio lock it down? >> i think it gives him a very strong -- he's going to have to start making the -- because of the way the delegate selection thing works it will be a long time before he actually locks up the delegates, but to start to make the convincing argument it is all but a done deal, he will need to win the states he's supposed to win. vermont, massachusetts, virginia, where he doesn't have anybody else on the ballot besides ron paul. if he wins ohio he'll be able to say i've won the biggest battleground state in the country. if he particularly is able to pick up one of these southern states it will really be like a,

close to a technical knockout, pick up tennessee. >> oklahoma or something. >> tennessee likeliest one. tennessee and ohio in addition to the others, i don't know how you rhetorically make the argument there's still an open cut. >> and mark, what you always look for in politics. trim lines. the fact that a week ago santorum was up by seven in ohio. now it's a draw. tennessee, santorum up by even more. now it's looking like a draw. if romney wins ohio and he wins tennessee, is it time to get the recording of deturn out the ligs the party's over? t. would be the time, because i love it so much. the reality is i think that mitt romney will benefit from the bad several weeks the republican have had we talked about yesterday, because if he wins ohio and tennessee and comes out of today, and/or out of today with a lot of delegates, it's clear you'll see more members of the establishment like we saw overed weekend with eric cantor saying, we've got to end this

thing. if our chance, a chance to win the white house pac depends on consolidating around a big front-runner, if he has a good night tonight that will start to happen. more endorsement, more money, people pressuring santorum and gingrich to get out of the race simultaneously. i don't know they'll get out but it's basically over tonight if he performs up to where he could -- >> health care is coming back to haunt mitt romney again. he's coming under fire for a 2009 op-ed arguing that the massachusetts health care plan he enacted as governor could be used as a model for the country, but this wasn't the only time romney spoke in favor of an individual mandate for all states. in a 2006 interview with human events, romney was asked whether his health care plan should go national. the former governor responded saying in part, "i think what we've crafted changes the national paradigm. it shows you can insist on individual responsibility and market reforms to get everybody insured. personal responsibility and market reform get to the markets

to work for all of our citizens." at a youngstown, town hall, romney insisted. >> god, really, why does he do this? >> stop! >> why does he do this? we get the tape. we get the op-ed. what does he think we are? >> stop. what did he say? >> he thinks we don't have the internet. listen to what he said yesterday. >> i need an emphatic yes from you, that you will repeal obama care. >> why would i not? all right? there's no -- there's no -- early on we asked, is what you've done in massachusetts something you'd have the entire government do? the federal government do jie said, no. from the very beginning. no. this is designed for our state and our circumstance. >> asked about that yesterday. >> he said this yesterday, really? >> in youngstown, ohio. rick santorum on the trail hammering him on this again saying mitt romney is wrong on the central issue. can't win this conversation with president obama. john heilemann, it might be a

moot point between santorum and romney but how big does this loom? >> conservatives are right, hard for mitt romney to prosecute a case on obama care given simi r similar -- this is making me nuts. what's the date today? >> march the 5th -- 6th. >> how long who this race been going on? nine months? >> nine months. >> how can it be -- >> i know what you're saying that it took nine months for the geniuses of the other campaigns to figure how to use lexisnexis and find this? it wasn't like, willie, that he did this op-ed in the low mass weekly paper. he did it in the nation's largest circulated pain, the "usa today" in 2009. if this had come out in january, february, i think this race would be different right now. >> give you subsidiary point

republicans should be terrified of. this is coming not belatedly from republicans but from the obama campaign sitting on more research, teasing it out trying to weaken him. when he becomes the nominee, they'll be sitting in chicago every day looking at a storehouse of things, let's do this one now, this one next week. so much stuff they're sitting on. >> if you compound those two points, you're talking about mitt romney's had this much trouble rin winning the republican nomination against rival campaigns that could not find a "usa today" op-ed. chicago has been doing opposition research opposition on mitt romney for a year and a half. what is going to happen to mitt romney when he gets hit with not just decent opposition research but the best opposition research money can buy? having gone through this entire race stumbling without being faced with that kind of opposition research jie think it's unfathomable. >> one other point. we have a fox poll to barbara push's point about what this

race has done. there's a fox news poll that came out yesterday about the latino vote, which is stagger aring. it flew off my twitter page. >> you know what we say at fox? icom. >> this say mong latino voters in general election matchups. mitt romney, president obama sup 56 points on mitt romney. he's up 55 on santorum. 58 on newt gingrich. >> a fox news poll, willie and, of course, george w. bush in 2004 got what percent? >> like in the 40s. >> yeah. that is a potentially fatal number, john. >> you cannot -- you cannot win -- >> you can't pick up 100 electoral votes. >> you can't win the presidency with 14% of the hispanic vote. you can't. all three of those guys have now. obviously, all have worsened their situation with latino voters over the course of this primary and can do some things to fix that but that is a bad place to start from. almost, again, it's almost

fatal. coming up next, a new hbo movie "game change," julianne moore joins us on set also the film's director and executive producer jay roach. first, here's bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> joe, after the tornadoes of last week and the horrendous weather couldn't ask for a better weather today for all the primary voting in our super tuesday states. the radar, not much to talk about. just in idaho around boise, light snow. probably the only area with minor concerns. even there improving later on. it's a cold morning, too. the good news on this, this is probably going to be the last really bitterly cold morning until next winter in many areas of the east. looks like a great warm-up is coming. if you can survive this morning, hopefully put that scarf and gloves away soon. temperature minus 9 temperature in northern new hampshire this morning. brutal windchills. this morning it's going to be bad. the winds die off this afternoon. the sun is out. by this afternoon and this evening, things improve, all areas of the east. the middle of the country, enjoy

april. even though it's the beginning of march. temperatures in the 70s in areas like st. louis and kansas city. beautiful day in d.c. dress warmly. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. [ woman speaking indistinctly over radio ] home protector plus from liberty mutual insurance... [ alarm blaring ] where the cost to repair your home, replace what's inside, and stay somewhere else if you need to are covered. because you never know what lies around the corner. to learn more,

visit libertymutual.com today. ♪ imagine zero pollutants in our environment. or zero dependency on foreign oil. ♪ this is why we at nissan built a car inspired by zero. because zero is worth everything. the zero gas, 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all. we could eat whatever we wanted and still lose weight. weight watchers online was so easy. you look up a food, you eat the food, you track the food. weight -- comes right off. you have lipstick on your teeth.

ok. got it. using the recipe builder, i'm making 2 point enchiladas that will blow your mind. together, we lost 71 pounds with weight watchers online. quit dancing. i didn't do it... [ female announcer ] join for free today. weight watchers online. finally, losing weight clicks.

i was near my hometown. i guess a mayor is soft like a community organizer are except that you have actual responsibilities. >> now i know why they call her sarah barracuda. >> talking moms. the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull. lipstick. >> she just came up with that. join our cause and help america elect a great man as the next president of the united states. thank you! and god bless america. >> great job. she did a great job. >> that was julianne moore as sarah palin in the upcoming film "game change." joining us now, academy

award-winning actress gile anne moore and the film's executive producer jay roach. congratulations to you both. >> wow. >> we saw it last night. >> road to leftist, a take down -- so we, as we said earlier today, we went down to canal street yesterday and picked up chinese food for this film and saw it last night. wow. >> fantastic. it's fantastic. >> i think, of course -- first of all, let me ask you, gile an julianne, what's is like, that you guys are doing a hit job on her? how far over backwards did you bend to make sure this was a fair portrayal of a controversial figure? >> when i was doing my research i spent a lot of time looking at her own material. i read her book. i listened to all the media appearances, all the speeches. we you know -- everything was sourced. there were times actually in the script where if i wasn't -- if i didn't quite understand something in a scene i'd go back and try to find her own

language. things she actually said to put it in there. not just because rythmically it was important but emotionally to represent her point of view. >> was there a moment when you were preparing for this that you said to yourself, because i followed the campaign very closely. i'm a republican. but there were a couple of those holy crap moments where i said, okay, maybe i underestimated her. she had a son that was getting shot at in iraq. >> right. >> which was the most harrowing moment the movie, as a father -- she -- you know, you go down to arizona, the doctor is asking, how's she doing? well, she just had a baby. >> yeah. a 4-month-old, a 7-year-old, 14-year-old, pregnant 17-year-old and 19-year-old in iraq. so, you know, she had a lot on her plate. that's a little stress. >> a little bit stressed. >> and she was in a particularly i think untenable situation. she had been gone from local politics into national politics

very, very quickly. was vetted what? a period of five days to vet her and kind of thrust into it. so i say the stresses on her were enormous. >> was there a moment when you were preparing that you looked at what she'd been through and said, wow. i didn't realize the challenges. >> you know, i wouldn't run for office. so -- >> yeah. so, jay, you've done there before. quite a few times. what was the biggest challenge other than dealing with -- >> because you -- >> the presumption of guilt is on you. >> yeah. >> as a hollywood guy that if you're tackling a republican subject you're going to be liberal. >> sure. >> and we knew that going in, and we just committed to getting the story right. we had a great book that had been so well researched. i got to work again with my collaborator from recount, danny strong. an amazing, not only great

screenwriter but a strong journalist in his own right and committed to tracking down all the sources, as many as we could that these guys uses and confirming that they weren't messing around. >> it's more interesting, if, by the way, you produce a multifaceted -- >> it's like with recount, surprising james baker. >> thought you were going to stiff him and in the end he was going around saying it was a great movie. >> i thought if you're going to do a story that says it's based on truth, then people are going to get distracted if it feels going one way or the other. as a storyteller, i wanted it to feel, no. this is the real thing. we don't have to make anything up, because it's so compelling. the predicaments that all of them found themselves in. you know, it was riveting to me at the time and i just thought, let's just get it right first and then see how it falls. >> julianne, it's clear you explored every facet that was possible of who sarah palin is.

who is she? when you watched this movie, what do you discover? >> you know, honestly i cannot put it -- i don't. you know -- as an actor you try to put yourself in somebody else's position. i did as much research as possible. i would not -- i spoke to danny going through the script. i would say, i need voracity. >> what surprised you about her? >> well i think the thing that's not surprising, something i had to explore, is her charisma. her absolute and utter ability to charm, to enchant to communicate, and i think that's really what dazzled the united states, when she burst on to the scene. you don't see that very often in politicians. that's something that -- that was the game-changer. what really kind of -- what they were looking for and they were surprised by it, too. >> and mark, it wasn't just giving that speech. the convention speech was remarkable. i remember democrats and republicans alike in the middle of it turning saying, this is a

mayor from -- can you believe this? >> a part you didn't always see in the news. how she had an immediate connection at, that 99% of the politicians don't. exactly right. it was charisma and also this amazing connection she had with americans one on one. >> there's almost no one i've ever covers that captured well in the movie, when she worked and talked to people, the level of excitement and pride that people had, you know, special needs families were particularly emotional, but ups any event i covered of her, people reacted. bill clinton probably the only thing i've ever seen that comes close. >> my mom in pensacola, i was not being so charitable on the air, but she was charitable enough and my mom went backstage and met her. she's met a lot of politicians. she said it was the most exciting day of her life. >> and you would go to these events, mark and i went to a bunch of palin events in the

course of that 60 days that's captured in the mother and yvie talk to people in the crowds. actually a moment in the film reflects this, crowd reactions saying over and over again, she seems real, like my next door neighbor. i know this woman. that is a quality you can't teach a politician could convey that. can't learn it or fake it. it's either you have that relatability and she it, in the core of her being, and it's what made her so magnetic to so many people and still does to this day. >> yeah. >> so julianne moore is on the cover of a "more" but writes about her flaws. really. >> uh-huh. >> whatever. >> uh-huh. sure. were you willie geist, at the flash cam. willie has a question. >> over here in the time-out seat across the studio. how you doing? good to see you. >> hi. >> we've actually talked over the last couple of months alone

to michelle williams who had to do marilyn monroe. meryl streep, did margaret thatcher. it's so difficult. i don't have to tell you, to portray someone that 100% of the population knows and is familiar with and has an opinion of. >> yeah. >> how did you treat the character so that you didn't become a caricature, you didn't become tina fey's version of sarah palin? >> well, honestly you're always looking for voracity, for the truth. i listened to her voice as often as i could. i wanted to be as accurate with all the physical boundaries, you know, with her voice, mannerisms, the way she moved, the way she held herself, and then you try to find the kind of, some sort of emotional clarity within that. it was important for me to represent her point of view. so her book was very helpful. i made 100% that everything was sourced when i would talk, say you need to guarantee to me this

actually happened. you have a source on this. center the "game change" author, noted for meticulously sourcing everything. i had that source. >> they make a lot of stuff up. let's not pretend. >> i'm not in the business of going into things and making stuff up. i needed the backdrop and i had it. i had a lot of support from jay, what we were all interested in that kind of accuracy. >> jay, i want to ask you about your portrayal of john mccain. a fascinating short of subtext of the book versus the movie, but first let's look at senator mccain played extraordinarily. >> found the base, lieberman is the right thing to do but the wrong way to win. >> who all have we vetted? >> romney, crist, pawlenty, bloomberg. >> who can we win with? >> none of them. >> none of them? john, obama just changed the entire dynamic.

>> it is a changed year, sir. we desperately need a game-changing pig, and none of these middle aged white guys are game changers. >> first of all, woody harrelson. >> good. >> and ed harris, just remarkable. but john mccain didn't always come across so well in the book. there were times especially when he was fumbling through papers, going to meet with bernanke and paulson about the financial meltdown he seemed every bit as disconnected add sarah palin, but in this movie he comes across as 100% grade a all-american hero. why did you make that decision? >> well, i admire john mccain and i admired especially, you know, early john mccain and was a fan for years and i think he found himself in a very tough pickle in this, beginning of this story. obama was surging in the polls, and it was all kind of going to

a very tough place for him when he had to make this decision, and i just felt -- i want the audience to be in his shoes and look at the dilemma he faced. especially when people were saying, you can take this risky choice, or you can lose. i just thought, i want people to relate with him at that moment, and casting ed harris was part of it because i think ed is such a dynamic, thoughtful person, and you can see the -- his soul at stake if you will. i mean, i think that's what great actors can do is, let you feel that it's not just a choice. it's like everything. >> there was a close-up shot of ed harris near the end of the movie. you just forgot for a second it was ed harris. god, that's john mccain. >> yeah. no. i think his transformation, you know, he put on some weight, but did physical things. the way he just committed to understanding what that guy faced, what -- he's an american hero. he'd been in office for many,

many years, and this was -- everything had come to this very chaotic and polarized place. his campaign was up and down all through to the primaries, and i just wanted to ask the audience, go past what you expect and look what it really was like to face that decision, and then think about what it was like to see it look like a great idea, as she came out, and did so well, and then what it felt like as it started to go off the rails a little bit and there was so much -- one of my favorites bits about it, at the end he says, i hate back stabbing and leaking -- after a campaign much less during it. because it was all kind of -- all of those people were just fighting each other and people seemed to be sabotages each other within his own world. an anxiety dream for him, too. >> yeah. >> you know, i watched it with my 13-year-old, and her analysis of it was amazing. she doesn't see a bad guy and a good guy in it, which i think is

a great story always, if you can find that story. >> the highest complement. there really are no heros or villains in this story. just people trying to figure it out and coming up against each oenchts and it will generate fantastic conversations because people will have different versions as to who fits what role. the ending i find, and won't give it away, believe it or not, it must have been a challenge. >> they lost. >> no, no. there's something surprising in it that goes beyond what you know. it must seem like a -- i have to do that. just never let's me finish. it must seem difficult to take on a movie in which you know how -- everyone knows how it's ending yet you found a way, there's something you have to look for, i'll just say, at the end, where it's like, huh. twist. it's really good. >> yeah, good. well, thank you. i mean, it's about trying to create suspense. even though people know what's going on. i think it's just about amazing characterization, and having people care for what the audience, what the people in the

campaign were faced with what their predicament was. actually asked them to care and put themselves back in it and then show a few places where yew seeing stuff that you didn't get to see on television. you know? one of my favorite moments in the film, which is become a little controversial is when she goes through a very traumatic phase right before the debate prep. i didn't know about that. and it actually made me care and understand more for what she had gone through at that point, and we show her come out of it and do well in the debates and get stronger towards the end, but to show that segment where she had, the interviews had not gone well with katie couric, tina fey was really knocking it out of the park, and now you know, sarah palin has to go and deliver a knockout punch in a debate way senator who had been -- three decades -- >> yeah bp julianne, that really is one of the remarkable takeaways. so many ups and downs. she gets the nomination. then gets nailed. pounded by the press.

then she gives this amazing speech. >> yep. >> at the convention. then the katie couric interview, and she does have this semimeltdown, which, i think anybody in your position would. the remarkable thing is, she climbs back up. >> i know. comes back, yeah. >> and she is her own woman turning on the mccain people saying, they're coming here to see me. not mccain. >> and i'm capable of this and going to do it my way. i don't need to you tell me what to do. it's a crazy roller coaster ride, and it's almost, you experience in a sense, you look at mccain's journey and hers where they ended up in the end. the real game change, honestly has been the republican party and we can see that now. sort of what sarah palin's pick and how that kind of reverberated through the whole party. >> right. it's relevant, it's really good. we're sorry about heilemann and halperin, otherwise, fantastic.

>> we all owe your daughter for the profanity in the movie. >> gosh, the movie starts, and it's like -- f bomb, f bomb, f bomb, and i'm like, do i watch this with carly? that's what she said. she goes, does john mccain curse like that? >> no. no he doesn't. >> we told way more than -- >> we had to take out a lot of the profanity to be realistic. >> never a -- >> he's a fighter pilot. >> he's a fighting navy guy. come on. it happens. >> all right. >> i didn't even notice. >> really? i guess -- >> whew, right? >> i'm from a navy town. >> so normal to you. right? >> so "game change" premieres saturday at 9:00 p.m. on hbo. >> check out "more" magazine. >> julianne moore and jay roach, thank you so much for being here. >> great job. >> thanks. straight up, we're going to have, look at this. >> look who's on tomorrow. >> nicolle wallace and david gregory, here to break down all the results from super tuesday. and we're to bother nicolle an

awful lot. be right back with "morning joe." today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines

are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

looks like it's going to be mitt romney's night. strong leads in msachusetts, vermont, virginia and idaho. no surprise. it's the potato state, and mitt is nothing if not pale and starchy.

from a purely mathematical standpoint i and my fellow conservatives will eventually yield to the inevitability of mitt romney. so, jimmy, let's put the countdown to loving mitt clock up. hell of a guy! oh, god. 23 hours, 58 minutes -- i can't breathe. jimmy, take it down. take it down. it's just bad luck for the bride to see the man you agreed to marry before you want to. i love that my daughter's part fish.

but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists,

and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans?

that's pretty -- time now for business before the bell. >> a little punchy? >> yeah, i am. >> and live at cnbc headquarters, got a market update for you. >> tell us what is going on down there. >> down about 90 points in the pre-market trading waiting guys on super tuesday results. waiting on a private sector bondholders need to make a decision by thursday and friday is jobs report, obviously huge. one thing i want to point out, analysis today that's interesting. some say a really good jobs report is one that shows job growth but also cease unemployment rate go up. you might say that's counterintuitive. well, one side, job growth. why would the unemployment rate go up? people who have not been looking for work would epter the workforce, re-enter it, looking for jobs. keep an eye on those two numbers when it comes to friday. i don't know if you saw the "new york times," focused on the politics. the student loan story about a

fed report that basically said there are 37 million borrowers in the united states in terms of student loans. 27% are past due by 30 days or longer, almost $1 trillion in outstanding student debt and it's just unbelievable number. focused so much on housing. if you can't pay off the loans you're starting your adult life way, way back. compared to others who don't have it. >> and, boy, it is hard for kids coming out of college to find jobs. >> brian shactman, thank you very much. >> great show today, guys. >> greatly appreciate it. >> we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] goodnight gluttony, a farewell long awaited. goodnight, stuffy. goodnight, outdated. goodnight old luxury and all of your wares. goodnight bygones everywhere. [ engine turns over ] good morning, illumination.

good morning, innovation. good morning unequaled inspiration. [ male announcer ] the audi a8, chosen by car & driver as the best luxury sedan in a recent comparison test. chosen by car & driver as the best luxury sedan this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. for the spender who needs a little help saving. for adding "& sons." for the dreamer, planning an early escape. for the mother of the bride.

for whoever you are, for whatever you're trying to achieve, pnc has technology, guidance, and over 150 years of experience to help you get there. ♪

not anymore. fiber one is bringing brownies back. at 90 calories, you can have brownies again. ♪ fiber one 90 calorie brownies. in the granola bar aisle. what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

i get congested. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season.

not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader.

how do you insure the 40 or 50 million americans without insurance? that's what we did. the president's copying that idea. i'm glad to hear that. one state, my state was able to put in place a plan that got everybody health insurance. therefore the right way to proceed is reform health care. that we can do as we did it in massachusetts, proposing doing at the national level. >> we took that on in massachusetts, wanted to get everybody insmurpd i understand the president's considers his plan following the model of massachusetts. let's learn from our experience. >> my goodness. >> 30-second commercial. >> there it is. put it together for the president. >> i learned actually from prime minister netanyahu's former

chief of staff that israel expects paralyzing sanctions, he called them, against the state of iran with the help of the united states. >> don't come on this program and try to make a distinction between federal and national. >> that's a problem. >> yeah. >> what have you learned? >> shameless self-promotion for a "game change" movie julianne moore, jay roach, what a great team and great interview. >> what a great movie. saw it last night. unbelievable. >> julianne moore on the cover of "more." i thought she was perfect. she's fantastic. she's so nice. >> what if she ever said something about us? >> willie, if it's way too early what time it is. >> it's "morning joe." coverage of super tuesday continues right now. super tuesday, contests in 11 states. over 400 delegates up for grabs. biggest day in the republican race. does mitt romney put it away today on again