santorum and romney have fought tooth and nail to emerge vicks you from the buckeye state. let's listen to the candidates as their final pitch goes out to voters. >> i do think we have a very real chance to win. but we're not here to get you to help callista and me. we're here to get you to help the country. >> this is not just about names on the ballot. this isn't an election about the course for america. we have to get rid of a failed president and get someone in there that understand this is economy and go to work to help the american people. >> the difference in this campaign is not just about governor romney being for obamacare, romneycare, advocating, as we've seen in the last week or two, it's one thing to be for it. it's another thing to not tell the truth to the people of this country about it. with e need a president and a nominee we can trust. >> let's bring in our super tuesday power panel. i love saying that.

alicia menendez, chip salzman and richard wolf. i want to start with the big battleground state of ohio. it's up for grabs. everybody really wants this. it's only going to go to one person. the latest poll has santorum and romney deadlocked in the polls leading up to today's vote. if romney squeaks this to victory, is it over? >> well, no, it's not. it's going to drag on. but pretty much we know where it's headed. that's to say romney is a candidate who still harbors huge doubts inside the party about his viability, whether he's a real conservative, whether he wins or loses that scenario, that narrative will continue. if he loses in ohio, obviously people will say, look, he can't connect with the rust belt. if he wins, there will be enough of a dragged-out contest that he won't close this out for many months. i hate to say this. despite the story tonight, we

won't get much of a change tonight. >> mitt romney can make a big statement. rick santorum could plant another conservative flag with a win. what do you predict? >> in tennessee, it's going to be down to the finish as well. romney's been closing hard like he's been in the other states. but we typically vote about 50% of our voters early. rick santorum had a big enough lead to squeak out a win in tennessee. >> alicia, our polls show all this republican infighting actually helping president obama. as we look at this new poll taken by latino voters, the massive leads here, look at this, over every other candidate. after this fight, is mitt romney going to be able to gain what he lost? or has the gop really blost this voting bloc altogether? >> i think the gop has lost this voting bloc. four years ago, it was such a big day for latino voters because of the competition.

you have mitt romney saying the dream act is a handout saying that arizona's harsh immigration law should be a model for the rest of the country. he's made no way for him to tack back to the center on these issues. i think this bloc is gone. >> so there's still a lot to be heard on the campaign trail. we're hearing, chip, that newt gingrich himself concedes that he must win georgia to continue. he's expected to win there in his home state. but can he continue, though, with just two states -- georgia, south carolina, under his belt? >> what we've learned in the world of super pacs, you can continue. it used to say presidential campaigns don't lose, they run out of money. in the world of super pacs, they don't run out of money much anymore because they always have somebody to give them a big infusion. the gingrich campaign is small and nimble. the super pacs can keep them going. i hope newt doesn't do that. if he doesn't feel like he can win the nomination, i hope he gets behind another candidate. we'll see what happens. >> still people making waves on

the campaign trail, spouses, ann romney getting a lot of play this morning for saying this. take a listen. >> that's so interesting because the one thing this disease has been for me has been a wonderful teacher. and with that comes an ability for compassion for others that are suffering. i don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. it can be here today and gone tomorrow. and how i measure riches is by the friends i have and the loved ones i have and the people that i care about in my life. and that's where my values are. those are where my riches are. >> ann romney talking about her battle with m.s. but taking criticism about the battle over words of them not considering themselves to be wealthy. is this a side of the romneys trying to relate to people and blow off the fact that they're really rich? >> no, i think it's a genuine delusion, if that's not a contradiction, among super wealthy people. because it's all relative.

they know people that are even wealthier. ann romney has many, many strengths. people are not going to vote for or against a candidate because of their spouse. but because of her husband's other statements, because of his wealth, because of his positions on taxes on the super wealthy, yes, this reinforces another data point in this broader narrative that if you are that wealthy in a time of economic hardship, it's tough to connect with voters in ohio, for instance. that's why rick santorum has a shot when he has so many other disadvantages. >> social issues have been a big topic throughout the process. but it's clouded by the controversy involving rush limbaugh's comments. take a listen to the latest from rush and the sandra fluke story. >> i don't think that a statement like this issued saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything. and especially when that statement is issued when he's under significant pressure from his sponsors who have begun to pull their support.

>> i again sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for using those two words to describe her. i do not think she is either of those two words. the apology to her over the weekend was sin veer. >> as we know, two stations have dropped off his show. i'm hearing from ed schultz he's lost up to 20 advertisers so far, maybe more coming. do you see the outrage dying down anytime soon? >> no. i think we're going to continue to talk about this in large part because it's a strength for democrats to dprraw a sharp contrast between themselves and the republican party. i also think it's a huge missed opportunity for mitt romney who could have said, enough is enough and they would have pivoted off of it and moved on. >> great to have you all with me today. my power panel for super tuesday. i appreciate it. the number one issue that mitt romney just can't seem to get around is romneycare. yesterday romney had to assure a voter that he would repeal

obamacare if he's elected. take a look. >> i need an emphatic "yes" from you that you will repeal obamacare. >> why would i not? [ applause ] >> 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. >> the santorum campaign has slammed romney in the days leading up to super tuesday citing the 2009 op ed where he urged president obama and washington to use his health care model for covering the uninsured. joining me to talk about this is ed schultz host of "the ed show" right here on nbc. nice to have you with me. videotape, it's hard to bat down when that stuff exists out there. take a look at mitt romney talking about romneycare from before. >> we have a model that worked. one state in america, my state,

was able to put in place a plan that got everybody health insurance and therefore the right way to proceed is to reform health care. that we can do as we did it in massachusetts as it's being proposed to do at the national level. we need health care reform. we took that on in massachusetts. we decided we wanted to get everybody insured. we've done that. i understand the president considers his plan in some respects following the model of massachusetts. let's learn from our experience. >> santorum has reaped the benefits of bringing this up during the primary fight. explain how this discussion can go further and what the match-up means in the general if romney is the nominee? >> well, there's a clear distinction between what he did as governor and what he says he's going to do as president. the best strategy for santorum is to continue to call him out on that and get him on record on exactly what he would do. basically romney is saying the governor that i was is not the president that i'm going to be. now, it's up to conservatives to render judgment as to whether they're going to trust him on

that or not. but mitt romney, from what i can see, has failed to come up with, okay, i'm going to repeal what he calls obamacare. but what are you going to do? and is it going to resemble anything that you did in massachusetts? that's the key. >> don't you discount your own governorship of being a successful governor by saying, my presidency will be nothing like the way i governed my state? >> he cut taxes 49 times. which one do you want to hang your hat on? he says he's going to repeal obamacare but he hasn't come up with a detailed plan on what he's going to do as president. that's been a failure for a lot of americans. notice the republicans never talk about what they're going to do with the 50 million people in this country that have no insurance and the constant rate increases that are taking place on families across the country. they never address that. >> in our new "wall street journal" poll, voters found the number one negative for romney to be that he waffles on issues.

number one right there. waffles on the issues, flip-flops back and forth. how can he gather strength and move forward after super tuesday if he is going to be the big winner today? >> well, it's going to be hard. but i've talked to a couple of republican strategists overnight who were saying they want to end this because they're getting nervous about the poll numbers of the president. this is a big night. it's there for romney to take. if romney wins ohio, he's going to be able to make a heck of a case to everybody else who thinks they're not excited about him that he's won florida, he's won arizona, he's won michigan. if he wins ohio and he's going to pick up a few more states tonight, it would seem to me if he can get a win in ohio and very, very close or a win in tennessee tonight, i don't know how he's not going to get the nomination. how do you win florida, arizona, michigan, ohio and he'll get virginia tonight -- how can you win those kinds of states and not be the nominee? it's as much the image business as it is the delegates. >> as you know, what does it

mean for romney if he does take ohio today but then thinking about for the general, he's got to go back into that state, try and take it again but he's got the statement that is he's made about the auto industry, let detroit fail, obviously there's a big -- there's been a big surge for jobs in ohio below the national average right now. >> thomas, this is march. a lot of things can happen between now and november. what if we have a downturn in the economy in july, august, september? if there's a quarter of some bad numbers, whether it be in the car industry or whether it be in the economy and the job numbers. there's a lot of room between super tuesday and election day. and that's why the romney camp wants to put them out tonight. puts to end this thing tonight. he might be able to do it. i think that, look, the democrats have got to realize this is a long way from being over. the economy still has a long way to go. and, yes, the automobile industry is a great kick-ass, so to speak, for the president

right now. but it has to continue. >> ed, thank you for joining me. "the ed show" airs weeknights at 8:00 p.m. right here on msnbc. ed's got a long day -- you have a long day ahead of you. >> that's okay. >> all-star panel on this political enterprise. this set is huge. >> you have to play hurt sometimes. although i'm not hurt. this is what we're in this business for. >> it is. this is the big day, super tuesday. primetime coverage starts at 6:00 eastern. want to point out breaking news we're getting in from wall street. the dow jones near 180 points. at this point, this biggest drop of the year we're recording right now. stocks down because of the uncertainty of the debt crisis in greece. there are hopes that tomorrow's jobs report will show a jump in jobs. the dow jones is flickering back and forth there by 155 points. president obama won't be sitting on the sidelines this super tuesday. he's holding his first news

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less than two hours from now, president obama will unveil a new housing plan aimed at saving eligible homeowners more than $1,000 a year on their mortgage. his first solo news conference since november. the president will outline a plan that allows borrowers

insured by the federal housing administration to refinance their loans at half the current fee. this new plan will reduce that charge to .55% of their balance. mike viqueira joins me now from the white house to talk more about that. mike, no coincidence, the news conference happens to fall on super tuesday, all these candidates trying to be president. the president coming out reminding everybody he is president. >> reporter: yes. >> what does he drive home today? >> reporter: it's funny you say that. white house aides will look at you with a straight face and say it is a coincidence, that this is the day that made the best sense. we can judge for ourselves whether that's a little bit disdi disingenuous or not. today he gets an oar in the water. iran and syria on the table. the president completing a couple of big days on iran. the aipac speech talking tough

on sunday night. but warning of loose talk of war and largely repeating that message one-on-one with prime minister benjamin netanyahu here at the white house yesterday. they were face to face, one-on-one for a good portion of that two-hour meeting. there is some daylight between these two leaders. also syria, the ongoing catastrophe there, the humanitarian catastrophe, the military attacks by the assad regime. john mccain now calling for bombing runs over syria. a lot of criticism that continues today. you can expect to hear about that. we can also, thomas, i think, expect the president not only to talk about jobs and the economy but get in some digs, subtle and otherwise, at mitt romney and perhaps some of the other republican candidates on this big super tuesday primary day. thomas? >> just business, nothing personal. nbc's mike viqueira at the white house. thank you. you can watch the president's news conference live here on msnbc at 1:15 p.m. eastern time. "andrea mitchell reports" will have a number of stellar panelists joining her including david gregory, chris matthews, robert gibbs and virginia governor bob mcdonnell.

you don't want to miss that with andrea mitchell. another one of the likely topics at today's presidential news conference is iran's nuclear aspirations and israel's vow to defend itself without relying on help from the u.s. last night after a white house meeting with president obama, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu evoked the horrors of the holocaust. he quoted a letter from 1944 where the u.s. rejected a request by jewish leaders to bomb a nazi death camp. >> such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the germans, even more vindictive action than a holocau holocaust. my friends, 2012 is not 1944. >> i'm joined now by a contributor for if the ne"newsw

"the daily beast." netanyahu saying israel can't afford to wait much longer. and if israel attacks we'll be pulled into that conflict. how do you see all of this playing out and is there anything the president can do to prevent an attack? diplomacy before force. >> well, the president has, even this weekend, said there's still a window for diplomacy. and as we know, just today the eu said it was going to open negotiations again, commence negotiations again with tehran about its nuclear program and about inspections and of course tehran today said it would allow some sort of inspection of the facility at parchin, a key sort of problem point for a while. >> as we look at an op ed that was in "the washington post," mitt romney says, quote, barack obama is america's most feckless

president since carter, while obama frets -- when we hear that being written out, is that just playing politics or pulling on the heartstrings of getting the u.s. to respond or trying to make the president look feckless when he has a very strong foreign policy on this? >> you'll hear from obama supporters that his policy towards iran and mitt romney's is not that different. it's not as if mitt romney is co calling for immediate bombing right now either. their defense is, i think, that obama has pushed for those very strong sanctions, these unprecedented sanctions against iran. i wrote a story just yesterday about this all from iran's perspective and what experts and former cia officials were felling me is if you look at the hardline attacks of the leaders in iran, they feel it might bring their population together. might help them politically

inside iran to get an attack by the israelis. so looking at it from their perspectives, you have a sort of bizarre irony as well. >> when we look at the coincidences between why the u.s. went into iraq and now talking about whether or not israel would show force against iran and not knowing full well whether or not their nuclear ambitions have been successful, just stating that they have nuclear ambitions, is that enough to set the stage for something like this moving forward? >> there's a lot of parallels, a lot of people would say. certainly there's a lot of parallels in that in both cases, we're talking about a series of inspections and blocking of inspections. and you don't have clarity as to what they have yet. it is true, though, there's a lot of consensus that iran would like a nuclear weapon. but there's also a lot of consensus that they're not there yet. the u.s. certainly says they are looking for the capability for a nuclear weapon. but they're not building a

nuclear weapon. >> aaron rosston, great to see you today. thank you. >> thank you. here's proof a mother will do whatever it takes to protect her children, even if it means endangering her own life in a tornado. plus, 424 delegates up for grabs tonight. how mitt romney can walk away a winner or is it going to be rick santorum? [ heart beating, monitor beeping ] woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance

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424 delegates at stake this thursday. richard lui is here with a breakdown. 37% is a big number. >> good morning to you. it's a game of numbers. here's the candidates' calculus. georgia topping with 67 delegates. ohio at 66. three-quarters of that are winner-take-all. from tennessee to massachusetts, delegate counts are steady.

idaho to vermont, those are lower. wyoming with a total of 26. but only 5 are in play today. another seven are decided saturday. the rest in april. the candidates have picked different dens. mitt romney is counting on new england, expecting wins in vermont and massachusetts. the midwest, santorum is making a fight there, coming on strong and hopes to lay claim. ron paul's ground game bankss on caucuses in the west and alaska. newt gingrich has georgia and the south on his mind. georgia is one of two key battles to watch. gingrich needs to win big here to be viable. ohio, nbc's political director, chuck todd, predicting romney to take at least 35. as for who has the most delegates, nbc's latest count, romney leads the pack with 119. gingrich with 30. santorum, 17 and then paul at 8. it's early by delegate count,

we're way over on the left side -- let me show you this graph here. 1 1,144 is what you need to win. 2,286 is the total number that's at play. we're just climbing that mountain here with more important tuesdays certainly yet to come. >> richard, thank you so much. appreciate it. so talking about ohio, ohio, ohio. and right now, the ce between mitt romney and rick santorum, too close to call, how the buckeye state could decide the presidential nomination. and gingrich has georgia on his mind. he's counting on a win in his home state. and these battleground states aren't just for republicans. president obama has an eye on them, too. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪

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>> dan rather's take on mitt romney and rick santorum's race in ohio. super tuesday is about more than just mitt romney. his closest contenders are making noise across the country. rick santorum slamming romney's money machine while newt gingrich is employing a tried-and-true tactic -- attacking the media. >> if i had the opportunity to have a 6-to-1 spending advantage, given where we are in this race right now, this race wouldn't be close. but that's not how it is. >> what you're watching is the last desperate effort of the elite media to smother an uprising by diverting us into any possible fight that isn't relevant to the real world. that's what's going on. >> so we've got the santorum and the gingrich camps covered with our super tuesday team. nbc's ron mott is in steubenville, ohio. kelly o'donnell is in marietta, georgia. ron, let's start with you. ohio, obviously a do or die for santorum. how confident is his campaign with the race being neck and

neck? >> reporter: hey, there, thomas. i think they're cautiously optimistic about this race here. one of the things that rick santorum said last night at a rally we attended up near cleveland in cuyahoga falls, of all the money that mitt romney has spent in this race, the fact that the polls are showing this state to be a dead heat tells you something. ohio matters not just on primary day but in the general. this is a true bellwether. they've picked the president correctly in the past 12 elections. this race has a lot on the line here. for rick santorum, he's unfortunately at a disadvantage when it comes to totalling delegates tonight because of a filing requirement he did not make in certain congressional districts. he's essentially giving back as many as 18 delegates out of the 66 here. he may very well win ohio and actually walk away from ohio with fewer delegates than mitt romney. so a lot at stake here. he started the day at aipac in washington. and senator santorum expected back here at steubenville high

school for his big watch party. >> ron mott, thank you, sir. we go on to kelly o'donnell in the state that gingrich must win. kelly, newt looks strong in his home state of georgia. how do his senior advisers see winning there, maybe springboarding the campaign like it did for him out of south carolina? >> reporter: well, the expectations are certainly good. and winning does have a way of bringing other good things along. so what you hear from the campaign is a desire to see a success in georgia playing out in places like oklahoma, tennessee, into the upcoming states like alabama where gingrich is campaigning part of this day. of course he spent more time here in georgia than his rivals. if there weren't a home state advantage, georgia would probably be playing much differently this year because it is the biggest delegate prize. and what we're also hearing from gingrich is a bit of the kind of political trash talk saying he is expecting to win his home state by a much larger margin, perhaps four or five times the margin that mitt romney won michigan.

so they're always looking for an angle to tell their story the best they can. now, in the big picture, this is really a must-do because gingrich has not had any kind of a win since south carolina, that was a big one. and certainly georgia would be important in that piece of trying to keep on going. the southern states are what he is banking on. this was his home district when he represented the sixth district of georgia in congress for 20 years. so people in this neighborhood certainly know him. i'm told about 200 people have voted so far today. >> kelly, thanks so much. i appreciate it. the fight to face barack obama in the fall is taking its toll on the republican candidates and the gop. as kelly said there, a lot of trash talk back and forth. however, one matriarch of the party is saying, enough is enough. >> i'm worried about this campaign because it's too ugly. i really don't like it. >> are you worried about the infighting, the gop infighting? >> yes, i don't like it at all. >> author and political

commentator ron reagan joins me now. ron, this is obviously good news for any sitting president, if all the trash talk that takes place in the primaries hurts whatever challenger comes up. but is this more than just a political bump in the road that is going to smooth out after the gop convention? could the party pushing social issues, birth control and seeing this wide divide and losing people, take the long-term toll on the party? >> yes, i think it will. this is the ultimate result of for decades employing the southern strategy where you pander to ignorance, the ignorance of one segment of your party. we're seeing it come to fruition now. the inmates have taken over the asyl asylum, as it were. and the republican brand is being damaged day by day now. the longer these primaries go on, you see the more average people tend to dismiss these republicans. but even republicans are less satisfied now with their slate of candidates than they were a few months ago. the more they see of these

people, the less they like them. add to that things like the rush limbaugh incident where you've got a guy who is emblematic in many ways of the republican party saying these awful things and conservative candidates like mitt romney and rick santorum being afraid to repudiate him. >> we're going to talk more about rush in a second. but i want to talk to you more about hearing the reagan name because your father's name, regularly mentioned on the campaign trail. here's a quote from "the wall street journal" columnist entitled, reagan was a sure loser, too. quote, 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. yes, the parallels to 1980 take you only so far. and mitt romney is no ronald reagan. still, at this same point in his campaign for the gop nomination, neither was reagan. so, ron, in your estimation, why

haven't republicans been able to transcend, propel themselves forward and move farther in this competition like your father did back in 1980? they're much more enthralled to their right wing than my father ever was. my father might have been anti-choice but he never went way over into the extreme sort of territory that the rick santorum does where he starts attacking contraception. the republicans today, mitt romney, rick santorum, are nothing like my father. and the republican party today is nothing like the republican party of my father's day where there was a large section of moderate republicans there who could reach across the aisle and get things done, for instance. >> as you talk about the far right, i want to bring you back now to the points that you were making on rush, the controversy surrounding what he said about sandra fluke. he's lost sponsors, two stations, they've dumped him. but as you said, none of the

candidates, none of the gop candidates have come out to denounce him. why do you think they're having trouble taking a commonsense stance approach to denounce that type of behavior, that type of conversation, especially the kind that will run republican women from under the tent? >> well, i'll refer you to george will, conservative columnist who said on sunday, these republican candidates and many republicans are apparently afraid of rush limbaugh. that means that they're afraid of this cowardly bully who said some awful things about this fine young woman, well-spoken young woman. why can't they repudiate that? what is the matter with them? you want to compare them to my father? i don't think my father would have had any trouble repudiating rush limbaugh and what he said. >> ron reagan, always great to see you. thanks for your time. >> thank you, thomas. >> we are keeping a very close eye on the markets. as i was telling you earlier in the hour, the dow jones is seeing some hits today with it

being down in triple digits. fears over the greek debt crisis weighing on investors. the dow was down nearly 180 points earlier today. there you see it hovering at negative 160. here's a look at some other stories topping the news. a harrowing story of survival. an indiana woman who used her body to shield her children from a twister and lost part of both of her legs. she described her ordeal earlier on the "today" show. >> everything started hitting my back, beams, pillars, furniture, everything was just slamming into my back. but i had my children in the blanket and i was on top of them. and i was reaching around holding them. and they are screaming, mommy, i can't live without you, i don't want to die, please don't let me die. and i said, you're not going to die, we're going to make it. i took my phone and i made a video to my husband telling him

i love him. >> amazingly, stephanie survived. others, not so lucky. the storms killed 40 across five states. 22 victims in kentucky, 13 in indiana, three in ohio, one person in alabama and one in georgia. on a completely different note this morning, there is a whole lot of money for 81-year-old louise white from rhode island. she came forward to claim the $336 million prize in the powerball jackpot. >> i'm very happy. and i'm very proud. and this will make my family very happy. we are truly blessed. >> white bought her winning ticket for the february 11th drop at a stop and shop in newport. ♪ remember that jingle? on this day in 1912, the first oreo was sold in hoboken, new jersey.

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persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. minnesota's biggest school district settling two lawsuits for failing to stop anti-gay bullying. the u.s. departments of justice and education say the school board settled 5 to 1 and agreed to a list of measures to help lgbt students down the line. the district is that of former gop presidential candidate michele bachmann who was criticized for not speaking out against those abuses. back to our super tuesday coverage, or super president obama day, whichever you prefer, because the white house is going to divert some attention from the gop contest with the president's first formal news conference of the year. the obama campaign is also alive and well in crucial super

tuesday states like ohio where operatives are already working seven days a week. joining me now is chris hayes, host of "up with chris hayes" seen here on msnbc. >> great to be here, thomas. >> happy super tuesday to you. >> happy super tuesday to you. >> let's look at the presence of the obama campaign in ohio, not discounting anything in the time left before the general. ten offices, thousands of volunteers, and having events there that are held already. is the obama camp trying to outsmart the gop even before they choose a nominee? >> well, i think actually one of the most undercovered stories in the last four or five months of the campaign is just how powerful and strong the obama campaign infrastructure is and has been on the ground. they have been -- there are thousands of people across the country who are donating for the first time to the campaign. when you think about the level of excitement in 2008, think about all the -- managing to get first-time volunteers and first-time donors, people who weren't sufficiently enthused in 2008 but are so enthusiastic now that they're taking that step. that says something about the

strength of the campaign operation. it is by far the most formidable campaign operation ever built in the modern era and it is day in and day out, seven days a week in all the battleground states. it is now really shifting into gear. >> as we take a look at our newest poll, shows the president trouncing all four possibly gop candidates in head-to-head match-ups. do republicans have any hope of changing the ground game and turning heads their way, getting people under their tent, the moderates, the independents? >> well, here's the situation. the campaign was set up -- and i think rightly as a campaign that was going to be a referendum on the state of the economy. that's when the republicans wanted when it looked like the economy was mired in the doldrums and wasn't recovering. now that we have much stronger economic data a sort of economic tillwind that looks like it's pushing things in the right direction, they have this problem, which is they have set up -- they have, by their own light, set up the campaign as a referendum on the economy.

if the economy is performing well, it is unclear what their argument is. and i think it's particularly true for mitt romney, that some total rationale for his candidacy up to now is that he would be a better economic manager. if the economy continues to improve, he has a real problem explaining what the rationale is for his kennecandidacy. >> chris, thank you very much. julianne moore explains her transformation into sarah palin. the actress stars as the former alaska governor in "game change change." this morning on "morning joe," moore said she thoroughly research this had role. take a look. >> 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. 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. >> the movie debut this is weekend on hbo. coming up on thursday, i'll talk with one of the movie's writers. mitt and ann romney have been married for 42 years, something to be proud of, something he often talks about on the trail. he often refers to his wife as sweetheart and girlfriend. but this is one introduction he certainly wanted to take back right away. >> i introduce to you the heavyweight champion of my life -- i don't mean weight. that didn't come out right. >> romney went on to explain what he meant, that she's a fighter, then handed his wife the microphone. >> 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. >> ann romney playing it off well. herman cain, mr. 9-9-9, got a laugh from mr. newt gingrich'si.

>> i want you to tell mr. cain that i have discoveried that the president has a 9-9-9 plan. he said that the president wants us to pay $999 -- that plan is the new of i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade.

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>> so are the reproductive rights of women under attack in the lone star state? a article that talked about splashing funding to groups like planned parenthood, michelle, i want to get into this quickly because i want to show everyone the numbers. last year as we take a peek, the texas legislature cut family funding by $111 million down to $37 million. what is the catalyst behind the

deep, deep cuts? >> they want to defund planned parenthood so what they did was gutted family funding and then put a complicated fund program in place that where the money that is left is going to emergency clinics for the poor that can also provide family planning services and provide a whole range of services that a you know, the uninsured need. so women who now need their annual examineses are competing for spaces with people that need other treatments, all the rest of medical needs. >> what is the recourse for people that need these services. >> >> increasingly there since, people will say there's alternatives to planned parenthood, but in texas there really isn't. there are some of these clinics for the poor in some regions but if you want to get in for women's health service ises sometimes they are not accepting

new patients at all and it can be a two or three month wait for an appointment. the other thing that texas is doing right now is the federal government gives them about $35 million for poor women's health, texas is refusing that money because under federal law, the recipients are allowed to go wherever they want for their health care because some of those women will go to planned parenthood, texas says they do not want the money at all. so the women are about to lose all their access to subsidized women's health care. >> i am up against the clock, i have to go. a lot going on, but this is an important topic and you bring up a really pivotol fact about them not wantsing to take the money and tying the hands of women. thanks for your time, i'll see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 eastern. make sure to stay with msnbc all

day and night for the super tuesday coverage. alex has what is coming up on "now." >> i can barely contain my excitement it is the moment we have all been waiting for. super tuesday is final upon us. where does it matter most? we will game out the three states that are sure to keep us up very, very late this evening. which candidates win? which ones lose and which ones may have have to go home? we will look at the better halves, karen santorum and ann romney on the trail, all this and more on this super tuesday and president obama who just happens to be holding his first news conference of the year today. we will preview what he will discuss when "now" begins in a mere 180 seconds. [ male annou] for the saver, and a big first step. for the spender who needs a little help saving. for adding "& sons."

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