and crack the vote.[ñjeá plus, margaret cho and i billion dollar posterior surviotg on less thanokc $2 a d in america. the truthw3t( about welfare ref. i'mçó breaking out my southernx drawl like mitt romney and a roadside diner inçó mississippi. the grits is ready.okçó good morning y'all.w3 we're all southerners now, right? right, mr. romney? >> the caucus, romney is left to ask, what's the matter withe1 kansas. with mississippi and alabama weighing in, in two days and louisiana later this month. so ever the chameleon, mitt romney is doing his best

southern drawl. >> he'se1q turning me into -- i don't know, ant( unofficial southerner and i'm learning to say y'all. i like grits. >> good morning y'all. >> good to be with you. >>xd i got right this morning wh a biscuit and cheesy grits, i'll tell>9&u. >> it may an admitted away game for romney. that's not stopping him from doing posturing among the mag magnolia. the south's e1emissary, newt gingrich isn't buying r:t+rj newfound appreciation ofe1 dix . >> governor romney indicated it was the first time he tastede1 grits. [ laughter ] >> i just wanted to reassure all of you that i have had someok acquaintance in a variety of ok forms, whether it's with shrimp, with cheese, withok gravy. iok get it.fá i figure ifi] you don't8ávimq9 grits, ther

likelihood, you don't understand the rest of the south, either. >> admittedly it is fun to watch the primary evolveok into a grits-off. it's not just the candidates who seem to be out of touch with thi south. i noticed many media voices, policy makers ande1 voters have vision of southern politics. it's almost like political commentators can't get past gone with the wind or the dukes of hazards. yes, white voters in the south were solidly democratic for nearly a hundred years. in part, because they were holding a grudge against abraham lincoln and the reconstruction.u many white southern democrats became republicans overnight after president johnson signed the voting rights act of q1965. i think it's time to put on

sential politician, louisiana governor huey long whose motto was, i'm for the poor man. all poor men. black and white. they got to have a home, a job and a decent education for their children. every man is a king. senior adviser to the pro-newt gingrich super pac winning our futuree1 and also at the table, president and ceo of the

these are not new orleans approved. >> no. it's missing an ingredient. >> these are missing an ingredient since it's so early in the morning. i figurp& i'd get my southern lady on and prepare for you. >> what are the important elements of southern politics that we're missing when we play the cultural game as though the south is about grits and mint juleps. >> southern states are notko al one. i think you saw with virginia and north carolina, you see changes because ofe1 migration people from outside of those states. i think you see growing hispanic

and latino population. it's very important not tow3 lo at the south as a monolithic region. the states are vodqdifferent. florida is different than north carolina. >> right. >> louisiana is different than mississippi and alabama, although there are similarities. that is so important. it's not a monolithic region of the country. >> that's right. it's not just one thing. you were talking. we were talkinge1 earlier about sort of what you see when you walk out of your office building in south carolina. when you look at the south, think about southern politics what, are the issues we're missing? >> one of the things you'req missing in states like south carolina and florida, masse1 migration of retirees from north.fáq >> the weather. >> the weather qhelps. sometimes bad or good. but the weather e,k>rq&ps. i think just the general nature of the southern states. it's a slower pace. it's certainly elections and

campaigns i think much more brutal in theq south, they're extremely personal. that's a bad side of it. look atr flows, it's hard to put it in terms of is it a solid voting block. do thee1 -- >> what's fascinating, i would say to me in my business to places like north carolina, to see how it's evolved overe1 the last 10 to 15 years. q,u begin to see it in georgia. metropolitan atlanta has grown tremendously over the last 25 xd years. i think the interesting thing is to think ahead in terms of what that will do the ebbsrñ$p'd flo of southern politics. >> both of you talked about migration in the case of northeasterners migrating in the form ofe1 retirees, obviously immigration into the country, which is happening in the ì(lc% south and southeastern states. but also in the last, we saw a

remigration of african-americans from the north, from the urban centers in theçó north that had been industrial centers back down to the south whose population is booming. does that mean, maybe not no 2012, but maybe in 2016 or 20201 that the south is truly a two-party in a general election battleground? >> i think it's resolving this that direction. i think if youñi saw north carolina and virginia, that may po the way. look at georgia and you talk about migration of african-americans. metropolitan atlantae1 added ha a million african-americans between 2000 and e12010. i think that trend is going to continue. it's the e1weather. it's the lifestyle. it's people returning to their roots. also, in many places, it's less expensive. >> right. at least at the moment. katon, yout( said this is a must-win region for republicans1 right? there's no sort of route to victory that doesn't include

southern states. >> i can't imagine winning the presidency and not having north carolina, virginia and florida. i can't imagine it. those weree1 close race but the were certainly strategically af section you have to have. it's fairly conservative. áe conservative region of the country.rvative region of the >> they saw a big change in 2010. the presidente1lp took them in but in 2008, virginia, north 4jj >> depends who is home. >> i always contend lq"á @&h(lc% democrats didn't throw us out in 2006. those were voters that came back were madfá at spending and government. they were different. it wasn't just the parties. i would ask this question, mayor.lp i don't think either party is going to win the election. i think it's thee1 person in th middle who doesn'tw3 identify. the person who didn't vote in either primary, didn't participate in what we're running through right now and that thafó independent voter identified and that's the one naming, naming the congress and the senators. >> i think no question, i also

think that the presidential elections are clearly about turnout. ife1 you look at 4 and 8, they were who could maximize their base and get the core çóvote. the interesting thing about the south, people talk about the south being conservative or trending socially conservative. but there's an economic populism about the south that's always been there because you have large numbere1 of poor people. >> that's right. >> both urban poor in places like new orleans ande1 jackson d birmingham and atlanta and rural poor. >> koright.lp&h(lc% >> that's been a trend what you this is a long time. in louisiana, it was a rural coalition >> i had this fantasy, mr. mayor, that i could run for governor of louisiana, not really run. but that i could run and do nothing but quote huey long. every debate, every question asked by a reporter, simply quote huey long as a reminder

that there is this sort of interracial pop list element that's part of a deeply southern tradition. $mnujt votersjf that's increasi important in the south. latino e1voters. particularly in texas, it's other -- the fact is that texas is very much in play. i want to look quickly at this republican strategist whit airs who said on thursday that it's pretty obvious that we can'te1 continue to lose latinos 276o t as we did in 2008 and remain competitive as a national party. talking about those parts of the south where latinos are coming in. with the current rhetoric, how are the republicans going to hold the south? >> i had the pleasure of working for rick perry early on and i watched newt gingrich. the republican parties -- we lost a really good shot at a large spot of the african-american vote. we were talking, the mayor and d

i, richard nixon got 35% of the african-american vote. >> and it has now. without a good section of hispanic vote in fivee1 states, \-q not going to ever have a shot. >> it's interesting. george w. lpbush, in his early presidency really made an effort to build biridges with the latio community and beginok to make - me form of nd beginok to make - immigration reform. it was ae1 backlash from the ba of the republican party. it's difficultq because for the latino community, the immigration hasó7! become a bellwether issue, it's an issue of respect, a foundational issue. >> even though it's not the top issue. when wet( look at polls of latió

voters, jobs, economy, national security are more important than immigration with you then -- it becomes. >> when i look at it melissa, i look at the trendsxd and values. we should have a really good shot at republicans. we should. unfortunately, in this election psychee1e1 am, that's become a ping-pong ball with us. i hope it change. >> up next, we'll hold on. there's a lot more southern politics to talk. up next, mississippi mudslinging and populist pop particulars. politic. t we were on schedule. t we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need.

siemens. answers. at home, i challenge that in one easy step with olay. total effects tone corrector. 7 anti-aging therapies for younger looking skin including an even skin tone, instantly. only from olay. the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. in less than a minute i can get more support. if you change your mind once you get home you can adjust it. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. at our semi-annual sleep sale, save $400 to $700 on our most popular bed sets. plus, free standard shipping - but only through march 18th! ly at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699 it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk.

the original 100% lactose-free milk.

we are talking about the republican presidential primary brawl this tuesday in alabama and mississippi. clemson university professor of political science jay david

woodard described southerni] politics at one party fápolitic legislative governance, a distinct rhetoric. popularok resistance to central authority. the south. back with me are katon dawson, former chair of the south carolina gop and mark memorial, former new orleansçó mayor and n ji at new york unay&'m%qe1ñ professor. >> before i get to my guests, i wantue1 to talk about my favori grits moment in popular culture since it became a central element of this gop race this week. it's actually this scene from the movie my cousin !f9e where joe pesci is representing his nephew. he wraps up the case with a grits technicality. take a look. >> do you remember what you had? >> eggszv and grits. >> eggs and grits. i like grits too. how do you cook your grits, regular creamy or al dente?

>> just regular, i guess. >> regular. instant grits? >> no çóself-respecting southerr uses instant grits. i take pride in my grits. >> a littlee1 bit of an amene1 corner over here with that line. no self-respecting southerner would use instant grits. rder trial in thisn &h(% moment hinges on the amount of time it took for this witness to make his grits. >> i want to say something, i guess,r counterintuitive, i hope.

the intuitive thing is we have a very long historyñi of racial barriers in the south. if we look at the voting rights act of 1965, which is a landmark voting rights, civil rights provision, what we have is a bunch ofe1 southern states bein called out for clearanceqw3ñi supervision to make sure they're not gerrymandering based on race or other characteristics. that's intuitive one. then there's a bigçó debate goi on as to whether or not that's still the case. we know the voting rights has our war paint on, the rise of5a constitutionalism in the south. we were both talking about this that struck us.

how much the constitutional, the rhetoric of the constitution, you go to the south, katon was talking about how people would draw the constitutioné@ out of their pocket and start talking to them approximate it. is this a secular bible? you said you can say that. i'm not going to say that. >> that's an interestingi] way think of it. we saw the quote from the clemson university political science professor who is transt conservative in his writings. but he talksok about christian values,xd ethic ande1 this sort anti-central authority, this idea of part of what we don't want is central government. i feel that does seem to cross southern political aesthetics, democratic and republican.e1 does that feel accurate? >> youçó know, i think there'si sense of that. whate1 he missed and what we cat miss in southern politics is the ever present issue of race. either above the surface ore1 jt below the surface. i mean, we saw it in the voting

performance paruw(ularly of white voters in the okñisouth. in the 2008 election,w3 voted vy differently than whitee1 voters did in theñi midwest or in the northeast. i think with the question of central authority, there is attention that's always present because i think southern politics colorful and real. you know, there were people -- i was in the legislature. i may have vigorousry disagreed with. but we sort of got along on añi certain level. becausew3e1 they were real and camouflaged in how they thought or how they approached ñithings. there's a real sense, it's a very personal sense of who positions they take. >> is that authenticity the thing that mitt romney is missing? we're kind of -- the south is a must win for republicans. honestly, when you look at the last democratic presidents before this president, bill

fact is that democrats sort of liked theirnb southern authenti big talking politicians too. is that where romney is just nod connecting? going into jftuesday, is he goi to be able to take these states? >> we ran elections in the south a long time off of ted kennedy of massachusetts. we did. ie1 -- a massachusetts moderate and rick santorum a pennsylvania ÷z'tut at this table understand that's sending a message that we love and care about. to add to the mayor hex$$ápr" politics were real and i want to put in southern politics, democrat and republican real and add meaning to the end of it. >> real meaning. >> both sides. i think i find it extremely personal."-that's what the poli that's why romney has had >> here's what i'm thinking -- i want to show añi map ofe1 the at

of household income that we don't want federal government intersengs and you see a higher upe1 take in personal income there. my worry is a southern governor >> the i don't'cwant to take th stimulus is i don't want to take president obama's stimulus. the same people who would have taken earmarks, every dimes7 of

infrastructure support under president bush or president clinton orxd president reagan.5a ideology, sometimes people use the rhetoric ofe1 ideologye1 to here's the thing. here's the thing. one o south is you do have a high percentage ofu poor people. poor african-americans, poor whites and now poor latinos. think that, to a great nos. extent, southern politicians, particularly more conservative southern politicians have been able to emphasize social issueìc and avoid confronting the deep economic challenges of the south where you do have successful and you do have a middleñãclass. but you have a greatñr deal of poor people, rural and urban, in the south. we're going to come right back and continue to talk about the south and about ohio. we're going to be talking about issues of redrawing maps.

later on this more than, barbara cho is going to join me at the table and lookok at how spaghet can change a politician's life. wanna know the difference between a trader and an elite trader? it's this... the etrade pro platform. fast. beautiful. totally customizable. finds top performing stocks -- in three clicks. quickly scans the market for new trading ideas. it can even match options strategies to your goals and lets you see the potential risk and reward. and, it also comes with a dedicated elite service team. got it? get it. good. introducing new etrade pro elite. ♪ 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. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back...

to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. 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. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not...that... we'd ever brag about it... turn right. come on, nine. turn left.

hit the brakes. huh? how did 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. congressional representatives mars i capture and dennis kucinich used to hav1 districts of their own to represent. kucinichh7 had the 10th distric and katherine the 9th of the on1 furthest to the west. why did they end up in a bitterly contested primary election against each other this past tuesday? kucinich lost his first congressional race in 16 years. here's what happened in ohio. betweene1i] 2000 and 2010, thoso cens census, the population decreased and he lost his district.xd

q" complete control of the ohio statehouse for the second time in 60fáok years ande1 gained l r to redraw the maps. two years later, ohio has one fewer democrat going to washington. if kaptur wins in the general election, she hasxd to represen this spaghetti noodle looking ninth district stretching west of cleveland. look at this 115-mile stretch along lake erie, so absurd it's been dubbed thet( mistake by th lake. at one point, the only thing keeping the districtñi continuo is the bridge that's 20 yards wide. this is what redistricting looks like. back me at the table katon dawson, marc morial and kenji yoshino. kenji, i want to start here. we talk about the voter i.d.oki laws and the restriction of people to vote and that feels outside the systemçó in some wa. redistricting is inside the system. >>jf absolutely. >> talk to me. what are legislators supposed to

be keeping in mind had doing restricting? this spaghetti strand doesn't feel like it was supposed to be when you draw new lines. >> that's absolutely ñiright, melissa. we really have to hold their feet to the fire on this one.e1 there's so many places redistricting withñiq equally it's a okmatchup of thosepázoçó words. if you look at the districts around the country,xd what we s is almostw3 like a cartoon caption. the#ï]!1 of death,5a right? there's -- thing. >> exactly. there's a frog having a baby. there's any number -- those are the g-rated captions. what we have ise1 a bunchxd of districts being redrawn on part son lines. many ofe1 my students are teari

their hair out saying how can this happen, it's gerrymandering. the point is that the supreme court hasxd gotten out of this field. they've taken axd step back in 3 2004 and said raciales.ñ i've ever been to is anfá tle incumbent protection fight. >>lp that's righ4é democrats and republicans, right, on both sides. >> whoever has controle1 will t to, one, protect and two, expand the number ofc s]$5ññi that the perceive to be in their control. i know some states are looking at independent commission process.c i'm not so certain you can take politic out of politics or democracy out of the redistricting. even if you do that, you'll fight overw3 whot( sits on the commission so to speak. >> sure. >> that's why w)) wins governorships and legislatures is so critical, particularly

around e1r >> 2010 did for the republicans. elections have consequences. >> especially in the census years. >> absolutely. that was an issue in lots of states about who was goinge1 to 'q i agree with you to a point. when you look at redistricting, if you're going to try to change the process, i've learned nobody gives power away. somebody has to take it. if youúc6ñ a commission, you hit -- somebody is going to stack the commission. taken to court and our plan was approved. it was aurweighty federal court case with three judges up there. but, it is to the victor go the spoils. you do get to -- there is a process there. but having a governor in a state is a huge help to it -- when yo9 start drawing the l'vm9ñ the incumbent protection act, we got rid -- >> fairness is important. i think people have confidence in the procerl have confidence in the result5apá they perceive

is fair. i would also say, juste1 becausa we have more to say on redistrict -- in the very next -- i promise. 15 seconds. hold it. we're going to come back andeì(% talk about a little rhyme that is associated with the xd ìq+eájár(ur'g right after the break. what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick. you don't cough, you don't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop. two covergirls. that's right. get two miracles in one product. covergirl makeup...

and olay advanced hydrating serum. it's new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. one pump... covers spots, lines... and wrinkles. and one bottle helps improve skin tone over time. that's what i was supposed to say now. well, no one can understand you. ♪ new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation from [ babbling ] ...covergirl. that's what i'm talking about. see? what did you just say? i'm looking for some "beeza-beeza-vuza-vuza." diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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? r redistricting is. what about the how. there are three pretty common techniques you should know. they rhyme. stacking, crackingt( and packin. stacking is the practice of redrawing districtok boundarieso

thatw3 one voter group thinks is the majority but it's outweighed by an opposing group.ok cracking is breaking up political opponents into different districts, preventing them from becoming aw3 majority. when the first two don't work, you start packing. packing asq many opponents into one district as s7possible, leaving the surrounding one for folks more like you. remember, this is all potentially legal. continuing our discussion on redistrictinge1 and the partisa and racia dawson,fáavé(á(hsju)p& and kenjá yoshino. you wanted toe1 makk this point about continuous districts and this issue of on the one hand sort ofi] what makes a communit but alsor does not and how the supreme court has thought about racee1 being important versus politics and partisanship. >> right. i think i wanted to bounce off of what marc was saying. he was saying it's politics all the way down. can't take the politics out of thee1 politic. i agree with that. i think ate1 the margins, we ca do something structural in order

>> so much of redistrictingr conversation does happen around race. it really does lead me to the question of whether or not as we're thinking -- particuly$re if we go back to the south and we're talking about the demographic changes, what ought to be sort of normatively the goal? should it bexdñi to get a; demographically diverse set ofq

representatives as possible? which may mean stacking, packing and cracking of african-american and latino populations or do you disburse those populations, cut even looking squares that look like geographic might actually lead to more democrats, for example in the house and in the state legislatures. but could lead to an enormousu reduction in the number of people of color in thosee1 positions. >> i think communities of interest are very important in a legislative body. because when a legislature represents a very diverse district, there are benefits to i4y] f c1 but there are also challenges in terms of how to vote. it's easier for a legislator to determine their position if there's a clear sense of the community of interest to the voters that they represent for the most part on large issues. so it's -- ittle bit of a mistake to assume thatn&o racia group will have -- you know, for example, if we look at in thefá south and you have urban african-americans and rural

african-americans but you kind of drawt( a funny distriu>ñ to a bunch of black folks together in one district, why assume that race would be more relevant than the urban rural status? >> if you look at the data and positions on key issues, that's where you see the community of interest. i think we shouldn't presume that african-american voters in a rural area or in an urban area would have a different point of view radically on issues that might come before a legislativew3 body. really try to determine communities of interest. this is not an easy subject. i think the sq)eme court makes a mistake to retreat completely. there was ae1 time before the o man one voterf)jz the 1960se1 w the supreme court didn't touch1 reapportionment. you had districts of various sizes.e1 youewhad a very unfair ñisystem. i think the supreme court may owe the nation a responsibility to promulgate standards, to set

sort of bright line tests so legislators have a guide post and it's not aw3 jump ball or m wrestling match ori] who has th most power at aq given point in time. >> where ohio lost the district, south is picking up a new one. we watched that fight play e1ou. republican statehouse, the entire proceç&l of hearings. it ended up being a district that economically was alike. that's what happentç it moved fromut( myrtle beach t & ini]e1 an area that john0lp sprat and now nick mulvaney and some jim o clyburn. is came -- the economicxd impac of a highway called i-73. it became a realq4hq%=9 of moving that district forward and q block.aw a good c+ it was a fight up to the last twoxd hours of where republican couldn't gx along and democrats went back to a federal court. >> this question of whether or note1 people would understand

their economic interests rather than partisan or racial ones. that's not typically how american politics operated, right? >> absolutely. i think one of the things to be careful about is that this is a race under a different name. been forbidden from doing something from thej'y front doo we can't allow it through the back door. i think that's the real danger with, as marc was saying, supreme court retreating andxd saying this is lefte1ñi up to t politicale1 process. it left a crack open from that retreat or it left -- i'm mixing metaphors. >> cracks and doork and front ones and back ones. >> it left a loophole in saying that, look,w3 in this 2004 caset said that partisan gerrymand gerrymandering is not something -- going back to what marc was saying earlier. >> it's going to become divas the population is diverse, more diverse as the south begins to change. it willñi become more complex.w% it's more complex in urban

the people's voices are in part in the choices they make in midterm elections. but it feels like there ought to be still other ways short of )jt up and moving for communities of interest to impact the ways in which redistricting is happening and although there are community meetings, it still feels like a very shadowçó process. up next, strategy sessions on the sidelines at the u.n. desperate diplomatic overtures and a western confrontation is under way with syria. andrea mitchell is here to walk us through that and what can happen in the next few days. that's right after the break. [ male announcer ] this is the network -- a living, breathing intelligence teaching data how to do more for business. [ beeping ] in here, data knows what to do. because the network finds it and tailors it across all the right points, automating all the right actions...

[ beeping ] ...to bring all the right results. it's the at&t network -- doing more with data to help business do more for customers. ♪ fight both fast with new tums freshers! concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. new tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] fast relief, fresh breath, all in a pocket sized pack. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ.

women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news.

all at 150 calories or less, there's definitely a temptations for you. unless you're one of those people who doesn't like delicious stuff. temptations. it's the first jell-o that's just for adults. now we turn our sights outside the country towards syria. which has been dominating our foreign policy discussion this week. on monday, republicans senator

john mccain became the first u.s. senator called for air strikes in syria. this week he went after leon panetta for not committing more strongly to military intervention. minutes ago on fox newschannel, heok pressed his case onw3 exac this issue. take a listen. >> the point is, massacres are få taking place in bosnia and kosovo and under president clinton we intervened because that's what america is all about. these people are fighting for their freedom, they're being slaughtered in an unfair fight. being supplied by thelp russian and eye iranians, but on the ground. it is not a fair fight. not toñi do so in my humble opinion, is disgraceful andok shameful. >> ñinow, we're going to learn more about the u.s. position on monday when secretary of state hillary clinton meets with russian leaders to'r4ujuj for a u.n. security council resolution (> end the viol] joining me to bring us up to ol] foreign affairs

correspondcép1ñ host of andrea mitchell reports on msnbc. hi, andrea. >> great to be with you.5a congratulations on the new 0$s appearance. jsrj my fápleasure. >> i really appreciate having you here to talk about fáthis. in a second round of talks trying to negotiate a cease-fire between the syrian leader and hise1t( opposition. anna,n is sago owe so fare1 eve option is -- >>e1 he's heading to saudi arab who have been pressing hard for military intervention. i think that the talks went nowhere basically. first cli,e1 kofi annan is alp diplomat and against military action. by saying that he was trying to negotiate a political solution where everyone would put down their weapons, that immediately upset the rebel forces because they say that that leaves, of

course, assad in power and forces them to give up their resistance. they were already against him. now assad has e1rebuffed him an won't discuss a political solution. i think this negotiated you saw that with panetta and -- >> i know for a lot of viewers this will feel like deja vçnu this is different, right? syria in terms of military strength is different than libya was when we were facing this moment before. >> you're absolutely right. syria,g

the difference also here is that the rebel forces, there are a hundred different groups they say andlp they're completely disorganized according -- when i say they, u.s. officials and allied officials. there's not even frag ment( teai organization that they had. >>ñr this is incredibly complex and secretary of state clinton will be dealing withym?háhis. we had breaking news overnight and i don't want to let you go until we talk about the afghanistan moment.

a u.s. service member who jt afghan civilians. we don't know the details. but when you have an incident like this, what are the potential ramifications for the% u.s. presence in afghanistan? >> this is horrific in every way. first of all, ite1 comes rightñ aftere1 the koranñr burnings wh mean that there is most likely going to be moreo6f retaliation consequence cans for our troops there and for civilian contractors and diplomats in afghanistan. this is the worst possible and also the horrible loss of life. at lastok count welp were 16 people dead, nine children. president karzai is demanding an explanation. we already heard frome1 the nat deputy commander that there is an apology. clearly, something horrible happened, it is oneçó soldier,o believe, who clearly went crazy. iw3 mean, there's no other explanation for what'happened. there doesn't seem to have been a provocation of any kind

against this one 5asoldier. we have all of these troops there under such stress and this what i do wonder, just quickly on the politics of this, what do both of these things mean for president obama as he's trying to address domestically thee1 politics of a potential intervention in syria and the continued intervention in afghanistan? >> of course, the other story iran. that's another pressuret( on hi. he's going to be under pressure from the republicans who are going to say he's weak on foreign policy. he's going to be under pressure from the mñrccain, lindsey grah part of the republican party to ä%hep our forces ine1 xdafghani. he's meeting this week with the britishfá prime minister. the first with david cameron and there's a nato meeting in may as

well. so that's in chicago. there are a lot of pressures, political pressures certainly from thew3 president's base to accelerate the withdrawal ande1 from the republican side not to. >> ñiandrea, always a pleasure talk with you. >> my plefsh you are. >> you can catch her show on msnbc each week day at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. in just a few moments, we'll lighten up a little bit. margaret cho will join me at the table. first, i'm going to ask, amçó i pretty? not for mexd but on behalf of a lot of young people.e1e1e1e1e1e]

folks, here we go again. young kids are causing quite the stir on the ww/sinternet. what are they doing? girls and boys are posting videos on you-tube and asking others if they're pretty or ugly. i don't think there's any need toe1 perpetuate this cycle. but when a young person says

this. i just wanted to make a random video seeing if i was like ugly or not because a lot of people call me ugly.lp and i think i'm ugly and fat. honestly, my heart aches. seeing kids looking validation in otherse1 and don' think people aren't watching. the video i just quoted has had more than 4 1/2 million views. that number is climbing. what's worse is that the responses can be vicious. for example, you need to fix that mess called your face or you look like something my dog ate or attention seeker. attention seeker? more like a cry for help. what would lead young people to want others to judge them like this? probably the same thing that leads adult to do it. the constant barrage of fad diets and models that are one pound above skin and bones and constant references to one'sw3 posterior can can createe1 sqmnrealistic pressures and expectations. thosee1 ofw3 us on tv can prete that we're above all this, am i

pretty, but we're not. there's a whole industry built on thet-jut(u)ities of frankly, people like me. did you in the the cover of forbes. one of the newest billionaires is sarah blakely, the creatorw3f spanx. she made her fortune on the back sides of people like us. look in the mirror before you put your spanx on and instead ok something negative, say something nice to yourself. because there might be little ears listening and the person from whom they take their lead is you. coming up, margaret cho has something to say to the young people posting these videos and the bullies who comment on them. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to.

splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure.

advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. 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. i have twins, 21 years old. each kid has their own path. they grow up, and they're out having their life. i really started to talk to them about the things that are important that they have to take ownership over. my name's colleen stiles, and my kids and i did our wills on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. you probably think you know my next guest but i bet there's more to her than you expect.

she is the one who made you bust a gute1 with her comedy while s busted through svwáqu+tqj and gender barriers. this versatile performer is part of the cast of lifetime's drop dead diva. whether her comedy or activism, she is always honest about her struggles and how they've made her stronger. joining me is comedienne and actress margaret cho. the last hour, we'll be talking about the highly problematic you-tube videos where young people are asking stza]gers on the internet, am i pretty? am i ugly? opening themselves up for and the willingness of strangers to judge. i knowxd that you responded to this recently. >> i felt really justv heartbroken for these kids. i know what that is. when you're growing up, you want somebody to tell you what you

they're all beautiful. there is nothing out there -- there's nothing -- no such thing as fat, no such thing asxd ugly. they're perfect representationsa theiri own issues e.!!o tqzpleq about how they feel about themselves. they'll respond in terrible ways, inappropriate ways and th1 kids -- >> it's also not just kids. i think about the critique that any person in public life gets. i'll get the e-mails or the tweets, you're stupid orfá dumb whatever.ñr they literally roll off my back. the you're fat, you're ugly, somehowe1 that sense of our sor of having a stake in our embodiment and our desire to not have people say that to use1 is yes, it's kids. but we don't grow out of it.

this is why sarahñr blakely is r youngest self-made woman billionaire, right? in part, because we're literally pushing ourselves into her r products. that's not kidsoh=%9 that's adults, e1right? >> with spanx too, i have a little bit of problem with spanx because i like coffee and i have a touch of ibs. i make stanks when i wear them. if you got -- >> you cannot go in a spanx. >> i don't have e1time. >> there's a little slit. but really -- >> it's not big enough. not for me.o6k you know, what this company has done -- of course it's great that she's successful. but she's successful on the?7v theory that we hate ourok $xbod. we want to minimize them as much as we can. weu want to suck it in, shove i in andi] make sure we don't sho >> right. >> it endorses women's

invisibility. like we compress ourselves shall then somehow we're more womanly ,yet moret( pw.úi it's a strange thing they're selling. >> to kind of take up as little room on the planet as possible, right?t( to have the soft he's voice and the smallest body. you take upe1 as little room in this little space. >> right. >> you'll often see male political leaders take up a lot of room at a table. but there's ways in which we teach girls to just -- >> compress themselves. especially in my culture, in korean american culture, it's very different. it still remains old world where my family, even though they wanted me to be successful, they wanted me to be successful, they couldn't help mex,nmu1%i it was.cá% in their mind success was marriage. in their mind success was a man. >> i want to go to exactly this topic. we're talking about young people dealing with shame and stigma and compressingok xdthemselves. the experiences faced byok ñrlb

are at the core of this. i want to look at your "it gets better" video for just a momentd >> okay. >> hi. this is margaret cho. i want to talk to all the gay teens out there who feel alone, who feelñ1 bullied. who feel like takinge1 their ow life might be an answer. well, it's çónot. it's noták i want to tell you that you'reo not alone and i was bullied so much when i was a kid and so much as a teenager and there were many, many times that i wanted to take myçó own life. but don't do it. we need you. the world cannot go on without you. stay with us. we love you so much. >> i love that it gets better project. >> yes. >> this idea of people just pausing and saying what needs to be said and what often is not said. what else can we do sna how can we uintervene? >> i think it's about reaching out to them in a sense that

there is like a problem with mentoring in the lbgt community. we don't feel entitled as the older generation to reach down to the younger generation. that there is not the necessarily the familial connection and then sometimes we just don't feel like we apply to that.w3 but we have to be. mentors and elders. i think it's also important to talk aboutfá growing up and getting sort of a revenge from all of this. you know, it's one thing to say, i'm going to rise above it. i'm like w3no,xd i'm goingfáw3 here and face this. it's like not enough to rise above it. it's not enough to consider the source. i don't wante1 to be the better person. >> i don't want to be the -- i don't want to be the better person, i just want to win. >> i just want to win. i just want to survive this. sometimes the best way to talk about it, to help survive ñqrth

say you know what, let's make them feel really badçó by growi up and feel so amazing. this idea that sometimes you're fighting and you lose. the personhood amendments that are currently kind of on the state ballots. it feels to me, personhood and thee@jájtt amendments that we're seeing, these are real fights, not just bye1 schoolyard bullie but oftenq by legislative bullies.

likeñi this amazing like opinionated sort. so this is like a really great thing. i think it's about taking advantage of things. blogging andw3 tweeting and whatever. that is out there for us. >> this is the kind of democratic with a legal d possibility of new media. you don't have to wait for a network to give you a show. you can develop your own platform. the question is how do you build an audience, particularly if you're relatively marginal? any ways you might think about talking to young people around that? >> i think it's really about finding out what needs to be said, what you need to say and then the message iñ( strong. the message, sort of r[,- on the message and the message will take you. >>=ñ we're going to come back a we're going to be joined by jen poznerñie1 who is axd studier on in politic.

she almost jumped out of her seat when she found out she'd be onset with you. we're talking about female power. we'll be right back.e1 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. [ alyson ] just keep walking... ♪ oh, come on! ♪ ugh, again! [ sniffs ] that's what i'm talkin' about. [ female announcer ] up to 100% flake-free, flirty hair. new head & shoulders green apple.

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. a living, breathing intelligence teaching data how to do more for business. [ beeping ] in here, data knows what to do. because the network finds it and tailors it across all the right points, automating all the right actions... [ beeping ] ...to bring all the right results.

it's the at&t network -- doing more with data to help business do more for customers. ♪

i'm back with comedienne anp actresslp margaret cho and jenn pozner. we talkedlp about posting the ai pretty videos. something is still bothering me. it is about adults perpetuating the cycle. i want to bring you in a little bit, jenn. i know your work has been around images of women in the media. i don't want to say skinny images are bad? help us to understand the complexity here. >> there ise1 -- i'm so glad yo want to know aboutfá complexity.

we so often whitewash that, c right? it's a continuum. if girls are told and adult women are beinge1 told from newspapers, billboards, magazines, tvt( e1shows, everyt from media coverage focusing on female politician's hair çnh their suits and their child bearing techniques to reality shows that tell girls that are even madison avenue approved style bodies, too short, too tall, too thin, not thin enough, not good enough. tofá relax their hair if it's kinky, all of that. their only source of power and their only roots toxd acceptanc and so then in a multisaturated átz for validation in response o that? they think they're making their own reality shows on you-tube and they're looking for some sort of positive response. but what you get is this immense

amount of harassment. when you put yourself out there like that on the internet, what we needt( instead of america's p model is america's next top young leader.ok @&h(lc% if we had more messages like that. >> but then, it's interesting to hear you say next top leader. one of my favorite things you do margaret is the ways in which i'mei%9 of -- itg+x a different form. we often see men cross dressing into women as lesse1 powerful. that's hysterical. that's coree1 comedic political behavior. i am wonderingi] about this putting on male privilege and power asi] part of what you're 1 doing. >> it is extremely empowering. you kind of have to embody the strengthxd and you have to likes like for me to play a man is so1

easy. i don't have to spend any time mak. no makeup. >> no spanx. >> actually, a fat suit. >> right. the other. >> the other way. which is a really fun. i also worn a fat suit to play a woman. i remember going on set and everybody ignoring me. because i was really e1hungry. 4ppeople were likex like scared. >> because at( big man's body ia powerful presence. but a big woman's body is something we want to pretend not to w3see. >> scared to be around. she's eating. she's not trying to hide the fact tf!"she's eating. >> one of the moments that i thought was so horrible where beauty and body image and food is concerned in reality tv, after about a decade of the bachelor and all of these shows telling women that basicallyxd love is only for skinny white

women, they finally roll out the same producers who brought us the bachelor and who wants to marry a multimillionaire brought out more to love, which is the fat chiller is what they subtitled it inside. and they said it was going to be about larger size women having a chance for romance like the rest of us. as if there's a us versus them. >> it's really just about them being fat and to be not. or normal size. >> the way necessity didjf it w byçó havingw3 instead of cockta parties, they rolled out meat on a stick and pizzas at the cocktail party. z do stuff their face with that,ed right? >> ie1 want to -- i want to tala little bit about the stereotypeq around race and ethnic identity. we were talking about lin-sanity. margaret, you wanted to weigh in. >> there's a lot of racist coverage about jeremy lin. i don't think people ore1

journalists arefá meaning to be racist. dtqi p!out asian americans. the only experience they have with us is us to take their order. they don't really know like -- i mean, even in like menus, for like takeout chinese, they don't have you order by the name of the dish because it's too hard. they have to give you a number. so that we can have a number. this whole like idea -- >> is this the inabilityi to se jeremy lin for anything than a model minoritye1 on the -- >> people are so excited about his presence, they want to write and talk about him.ok asian american men have been invisible forever, it's liker do we talk about this without being racist. all we havexistereotypes. that's all we have. >> on a journalistic level, the call to, or the reversion to stereotype as the go-to ise1 really anti-journalistic ethics, right? but it's what they do andñ1 wha

we have in this climate. wom there, we hava; aok contributoro wrote a piece aboutt( racist mea coverage about jeremy lin and looked at every -- tons of outlet. it was all the same sort of narratives.it wasçó looking atog the sports reporting talking about him asw3 an academic -- you don't have that -- >> on the court. >> did i say field? clearly, i should not be talking about sports. i have a journalistic -- >> speaking of you talking about journalistic process, i'm going to take a moment of host privilegee1 here. because i need a little therapy, margaret. i'm hoping forxd you to provide some. i was thinking a lot asq i was reading up for our interview about the sense that you had of your voice gettinge1 constraine in your original -- i love the drop dead diva and american nb girl. you know, honestly, jenn made me

nervous. she wrote this lovely piece about this show starting. but in it she said something like can the melissa harris-perry show remove race and gender blindersr n"fáip &h(lc% >> my headline. i did not write e1that. >> i am going to -- i'me1 askin for a therapy pause here. g÷ bit ofe1 advice about, whats it mean to be women in media, not just to sort of talk about how thefá media does it wrong. how do we preserve authenticity and voice while trying to build audience? >> i think we don't know. we're inventing it as we go along. that's the thing. we have to invent it as we goq along. our authenticity is everythinge we do and say. that is ok(uáhentic. to question or seek authenticity k do whiteokw3 people ask if they authentic.

>> they're asking mitt romney if he'se1 authentic. >> but that's because of his hair. what he would feel would be different from what we would feel. i always felt really like,ok i' got to invent it because i've never seen anything like myself going. my situation is my father was deported when i was born. and so my family is so terrified it would happen again. i was the only member to be born in america. my mother would push me forward, >> i wanted to call it sister pundit journalist. coming off your ñrbook. but the point with that article

is you'ree1 already doing it by the fact that this showw3 exist as a first. the firstçó progressive black feminist hosting a cable news outlet show that's the equivalent to an o'reilly type show and bringing on a diversity of guests and doing aq diversit of subject matter that you don't see elsewhere, that is the barriers being broken right there. the episud! you did yesterday with the guestsñi -- >> no more mhp love. margaret, i appreciate you taking the time to come and i love how you connect culture and politics andxd activism and allf those th.vm9ñ jenn, honestly, i'm thrilled to have you at the table for so many of the same reasons. if there isq an awe tene1 particular way in which women express ourselves, we're notw3 segmented. our work is doing all these things at the same time.e1 thanks, i really appreciate it. m"rgaretfá is n. jenn you're hed heading off for

today. we're going to talk more policy. coming up, unemployment numbers seem like good news but recent figures have gotten littleñr ink. we believe that's scary. we're going to talk more about that right after the break. [ female announcer ] off limits? 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.

who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts,

problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. after just one use? think again. [ female announcer ] with olay regenerist wrinkle revolution, it's possible to reduce the look of wrinkles in just 10 minutes. now you've seen it. experience it for yourself. [ female announcer ] olay regenerist.

toe top of the show, i sure, you can getfá a few days press coverage whene1 a candida says something entirely insensitive and outrageous about the poorxd but then the conversationawq goes poor. our speak no evil, hear no evil silence around povertyw3 doesn' mean there isn't plenty to see starting with these numbers by a study by the national poverty center of the university of michigan. 1.46 million, the number of households in the united states living inñi extreme poverty.

in those households, there are 2.8 million children. that's roughly 16% of all-american children. living in extreme poverty. which, according to the national poverty center means the americans are surviving on barely $2 or less per day. that's 1.4 million households with 2.8 million children living on $2 or less per personqxd pery in any given month. 77% is the increase between 1996 and 2011 of participants in snap, the supplemental new tigs -- out ofçó owl householdsn america, 22% are latinoñi -- 37 is the amount of extremely poor households headed by a maspied couple while 51% of extremely poor households were headed by sing will women.

it's not an easy figure for the mind to digest. 51%. so let me give you a simpler number. one, one bostonu area mother o who --fá i didn't want to tell m i'm note1 eating like i'm supposed. my kids asked, mommy are you going to eat something? no, you guys go ahead and eat. i'm not hungryfk"táhat is happe america. coming up, we're adding that one bonita cuff's voice to our conversation on poverty.e1e1qe1r

amid the populous pandering

there's no habit of do this and you give me cash unless it's illegal. >> i'm in this race because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it% >> talk aboutxd reforming the welfare system. i authored the bill and managed it on the floor of the united states senate thatxd ended the only broad-based federal entitlement in the history of our country. >> those are republicauá hopefud making their position on poverty. but the n#⌝91 poverty center about extreme poverty tells afá different story. it sa÷,5iu.q prevalence of extreme poverty rose sharply and this growth has been concentrated among the groups affected by the reform. despite the presence of a substantial in kind safety net,

a significant numbere1 offá households with children continue to slip through the fá cracks." the political dialog frames it as a jobs issue or personal responsibility issuelp butfá th national poverty centers is reforming well -- it's causing extreme poverty to increase. back witht(e1 me is margaret chf marc morial, and katon dawson, senior adviser of the@pro-newt gingrich. and kenji yoshino professor at nyu. joining us from boston is bonita cuff. part of the witnesses to hunger, a research project by school of public health that gives voice to woment( to tell their own stories aboute1 liviá/ñ ink$'ve. bonita, i am so thrilled that you took thee1 time to join usw this morning. >> thanks. i'm thrilled to be here. >> i want to start with you, bonita. we're going to talk a lot of policy. before we get to that, i feel like we have so many political and policy conversations aboutq

poverty. but we don'te1 have conversatio about what the reality ofçó livg in ( so i really want to give you an opportunity today to talk to us a bit about the challenges that you face on a regular basis. >> okay. >> what do you think people don't understand about what it means on açó day-to-day basis t surviv poverty? >> tha÷&j just it.ñi survival. it'c all about survival. trying to live day-to-day. wondering if you're going to have av >> as i was reading your story earlier, i was really moved by your conversation about choosinv not to eat oftenlp so that your children could ueat. a lot of times we hear poverty described as a matter of personal responsibility as though if you're poor, it's often sort of your fault because you didn't want to work. but i can't imagine any greater

sense of personal responsibility than choosing not to eat solp tt youre1 children can. how do you address pá sort of personal responsibility conversation? >> well,e1 you know, it's -- that's not even true. what it is, it's hard toe1 get job. they promise you that there are going to be more jobs when ther( actually isn't. you go outxúq)e looking for a job, like me for inst @ce, and other people like me, we have talent and when we go out there to look for a job on the q postings, ite1 says high school requirements is needed.e1 and you have your high school requirement needed along with other skills. you go in for the job interview and you're shot down. you get a letter in the mail saq0stok oh, we hired another t)ndidate with a bachelors degree something like that. >> i also understand thatp part of the smupáion that you6 ing has to do with health problems injf the family. that your children's father is having healthr how is the attempt to get medical careq and healthcare alo

ba part of your story? >> that's been very hard for him. it's like, okay, onep, minute h can't workr ssi or something that will help bring money into the house so we can eat. and he gets shot down from that. no matterñi what he bring, doctor's note. it doesn't matter what he brings.9! it's not easy. >> we've heard -- >> so he'll -- ifi] you could speak to preside obama or to hisxdt( eventual republican opponent, what would you say about what we need to do on the questione1 of poverty in

thisr >>i]çóe1 just give more to proj that's where it's needed more. it's not that we're asking for more food stamps or more money or anything. we know that there is help out there1 for us. and we're able to get that help. it's just not enough help. they need more fundings in order to help us. >> i want to actually bring marc morial into this conversation. mr. i]morial is head of the urb league. as i talked, i felt you on the side there. i juste1 wanted to ask you, as k listen to her story, how this is resonating.w3

they wante@,o work and take car of themselves. but thee1 face of povertye1 is 1 the face of children. an unmarried mother who has children and may also have the responsibilities of taking care of their own parents. so itq goes beyond simply wantig the individual -- it affects a number of people. eve got to remember that the economy and the economic downturn has made poverty evene more difficult. it'sjf increased the numbers in many e1respects. while we do have a social safety net, that we've got to maintain it in this country, but we need to do more to help people achieve economic independence, to help them connect. this is the work that we do att the urban league throughout our affiliate network across the nation. in a climate of cutbacks at state and local levels in the federal budget, it's harder for us to servexd an increasing numr of people. >> i actually want to ask you about that. sort of, if you had to think

about the relationship between organizations like for example, urban leaguee1 or the charitabl organizations where you often get food versus government help, what do you think has been the things that,jorfá you have been most useful ore1 those that are most in touch withfá the needs youre1 family? >> )2c sorry, was that addressed to me? >> i'm sorry bonita. yes e1indeed. if you were trying to think through a charitable organizations versus government assistance, what's been most useful for you and for your family? >> project bright, their food pantries, tha'been useful for me and my family. they don't have enough. you go in, they see you as one person. it's not enough for one person, especially when you have a large family like me. >> ms. cuff,ok i appreciate youo much coming on the program.

when we come back up next, we're goingok to broaden this conversation, talk with the folks here at the table about how we address the true face of poverty in america. don't go away. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187. life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience 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. [ male announcer ] enbrel. what a bargain! [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal turns out to be not such a good deal. but new bounty gives you value you can see. in this lab demo, one sheet of new bounty leaves this surface cleaner than two sheets of the leading ordinary brand. so you can clean this mess with half as many sheets. bounty has trap and lock technology

to soak up big spills and lock them in. why use more when you can use less? new bounty. the clean picker upper. we're talking about the reality of extreme poverty whic1 according to the university of michigan's national poverty center has grown fromt( 10% of l poor households in 1996 to a high ofe1 20% as of 2011. it's actually a matter of scores in his column for the nation. he says a majority of states now provide benefit at less than 30%

and then i'm talkingw3 to a wom who in fact is hungry because there is insufficient food for her family. one reason is because a welfare reform bill that mr. gingrich was an enormous part of passing in is the e196 that got ride1 o food stamps and created snap. has fewer in kind benefits. what are americans in terms -- >> not to represent any candidate, any faction, the figures -- i listened to ms. cuff, there's 3.8 million more that's a fact. 1.1% increase. i heard three important things. i witness povmrtv every day inj columbia, south carolina. 500 people in my -- i see it an. there are not a lot of good stories out of that.

at the end of the day, republicans are talking about 3'le of the right thing. the rhetoric might be a little harsh. but being ableó[ to create a climate where people have a chance for a good education. the best thing you can do for a person of poverty is still open those channelsokx#tju an educat. i think our education system still needs to be under inspection. >> education, healthcare and jobs sounds like an urban league agenda. >> it is an agenda. education and jobs. but i think it'sçó also importa inr

eyes those who aree1xça==i and struggling. i met a group of 50-somethings up in connecticut a while back. they're people who have exhausted their unemployment benefit, they're people who work most of theirt( life who find themselves on the edge of poverty. the face of poverty is not a traditional stereotypical face. what we've got to do isok recognize that there are policy levers. whether a social safety net, how you do education tha)ow3 are rey important. >> on exactly the policy, this isn't just accidental or aboutoa huge gap in personal responsibility that leads to this additional poverty. there's real policy oriented questions here. >> absolutely. i want to just go back to this idea of $2 a day. i think that if we do the math there,ó[ shocking of $800ñi a y. say i'll make you a $10,000.dide

i don't want to slam governor romney too much. >> it's too easy. [ laughter ] >> tell me about it.çó self-inflicted wounds. but i just feel that there's such a gap. i think that what we really immediate is more -- it actually goes back to what margaret was saying in the last segmente1 abt these coming out stories. this is an invisible minority (á!q needs to be brought to light. it's not so different from the lgb4e1 community. putting a human face on it. having that video educated people about who the very are, qet( are. i feel bad when i think about policy, to the book in 2001,e1 nickel and dimes where she talks about the subtitle isjf on not getting by in america. this is a woman who has a ph.d. who decides to take a series of minimum wage jobs. we're not even talking about food stamps. we're talkingt( about somebody o

is actuallyc okworking. she ça7 one of the things she talks about is thisq chronic cycle of poverty. if you go beyond a level, itok costs more to live. if you can't make the downpayment on your rent, you're kicked out of your amounte1 and afford that if you don't have transportation, you have to have to pay for that. that costs you more than gas. if you don't have other kinds of resources like medical care, then you'll have to pay for that as ñiwell. >> margaret, this gap, right, is precisely part of what's happening here. happomney did talk about a social safety netw3 and i'll me it if i need to. >> it is the t(invisibility of poor people. ì(lc% of not having any kind of representation and my family, they never voted. they never felt like they were included in the discussion. you don't feel like you count when you are that poor. you feel like you're sort ofe1

an invisible space and so you don't have people talking. i think that's why people were so moved by occupy. >> right. >> because it sort of ignited this feeling of frustration that wp over so many things. there's such a disparity of wealth. >> what i found surprising was, aslp horrible as the economic downturn was, i sortxd of thoug povertyxde1 and economic and fo insecurity would get big enough that it would be part of the national agenda. all the bonita cuff and they are childre ofxd them who have been strugglg in these ways, there would be more folks struggling and we'd talk about poverty. it still somehow feels off the agenda. we can talk about theoke1 middl class -- >> talking about the middle class means talking about pathways to thelp middle class.

whether the working poor cane1 t to the middle class eventually. i want took disavow thee1 steree that when we talk ab59 poverty, we're talkinge1 about people wh are unemployed. >> right. >> we're onlye1 talking about people who are on the social safety net. we're talking about many times working people. people working ints7ç low wage . people in e1low-wage jobs aá,ñ e a second job. orlut a side business that they may be trying to create whr are taking care of children. many times taking care of seniors. i think whatt( we've got do in this country is make surei] tha as we discuss the future economy, that we don't forget thei] working poor and how they 4zo5átáák because the recession1 shrunk the middle class and pushed more people into this category of working poor. it's a much bigger issue than i think we see playing out discussion. >> it feels to ó[me, even the nd to call them the working poor

still feels like waky}>yóññ"ith have to prove they're they are . we are talking about children that 1.46 million households, that's enough. if you are a kid and hungry, you should not be hungry in this country. >> great champions of this is marion wright edleman. >> children's defense fund. we have to take one quick break. we will knock down more misconceptions about the south and questions of poverty. first, a preview of "weekends with alex witt." >> tuesday could be the most pivotal day in the gop race for president. depending what happens in two southern primaries. bhan of the three candidates drop out. we will examine that. the devastating tsunami hit japan. we have images of what some of the most devastated areas look like now. it really is a mixed picture. the iran war clock, what's that? and will it ever strike mid tonight? we will talk about the author of the new report how that clock

works and whether war can be avoided. we are also going tell you about new research on the great lakes. there are startling new numbers out, numbers are 71 and 40. what do those numbers mean? we will tell you that. >> thanks so much. and up next, i'm going say why winning isn't everything. my footnotes is after the break. ♪

fiber one 90 calorie brownies. in the granola bar aisle. 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. ♪

they manage to change the conversation. and oh, yeah. i also wanted to remind y'all i'm not to assume too much about the south. we are a complicated and dare i say an join us next week, saturday, 10:00 a.m.

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. two covergirls. that's right. get two miracles in one product. covergirl makeup... and olay advanced hydrating serum. it's new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. one pump... covers spots, lines... and wrinkles. and one bottle helps improve skin tone over time. that's what i was supposed to say now. well, no one can understand you. ♪ new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation from [ babbling ] ...covergirl. that's what i'm talking about. see? what did you just say? i'm looking for some "beeza-beeza-vuza-vuza."

bayer aspirin... ohh, no no no. i'm not having a heart attack, it's my head. this is made for pain. [ male announcer ] bayer advanced aspirin enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes extra strength relief to the sight of your pain. feel better? yeah...thanks for the tip! the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not...that... we'd ever brag about it... turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how did that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine top safety picks like the passat and jetta. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month. because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. no animal by-products. no meat and bone meal. when you put my chicken on the table,

you know where it came from. gomery and ou put my chicken on the table, abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.