>> mitt romney, rick santorum, and newt gingrich. these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. simply stated. we're about promoting the private sector. they're about protecting the privileged sector. if you give any one of these guys the keys of the white house they will bankrupt the middle class again. >> i'm joined by "washington post" national political reporter karen tumulty and new york times caucus blogger. good morning to both of you. >> hi, chris. >> this is the joe biden democrats loved in 2008. naming names, taking no prisoners. you know, i think we're 235 days until the election. karen, are you at all surprised that he was out and relishing this attack role and naming names? >> well, joe biden is, you know, not just great at playing that traditional role of a vice president, as attack dog, but he

has a way of, i think, connecting with middle class blue collar voters in a way that the president himself has really struggled. so i'm not at all surprised to see him out there because these are the voters that right now are getting hardest hit by things like gas prices, who are the most worried about their mortgages being underwater and whether their jobs are going to be there tomorrow. so it's, you know, it's, i think a predictable strategy and probably a smart one on the part of the white house. >> yeah, it's the way they used him in 2008. they thought he was a little bit of a secret weapon in some of these midwestern industrial manufacturing states. do you think he can still work the magic there? >> i think he can. look, i think what you're seeing is really the ramping up to the mul multifaceted presidential campaign that you have to weigh these days, where you have the attacks, being on the offensive with joe biden. the president himself was defensive yesterday, talking about gas prices and why his policies aren't to blame for that. you had the definition phase of

it, with that sort of docu-video, where you're trying to, as a campaign define the president before your opponents can define you. an you're fund raising. so all the different pieces in the space of 24 hours. >> and he's giving these speeches. this time it was on alternative energy. the campaign continuing to worry that gas prices are going to be a very big challenge for this president, the numbers are showing us. he didn't name names, but he did fire back on criticisms from all the republican rivals. let me play that for you. >> the president is looking for someone to blame, and he like to look in p the mirror. i know he likes alternative energy. i would rather see an alternative president. >> they've been talking down new sources of energy. if some of these folks were around when columbus set sail, they must have been founding members of the flat earth society. they would not have believed that the world was round. >> he got a great response for

that. but karen, you guys have a new poll in the last couple of days. how dangerous are rising gas prices for the president? >> i think our polling suggested that is the main reason that his approval ratings have been falling, and again with these various segments that he has struggled with the most. but i find it interesting. there's also about three levels to this energy attack, in that he's also trying to attack the republicans on their doubts about man's role in causing global warming. and also the white house has been on the defensive about its own policies to foster alternative energy sources, specifically those loans that they made to solyndra. >> brad, i know you've been following the conversation. there are a lot of folks in the republican party, among the candidates, who really think

that they have an issue there. they love the president talking about gas prices and alternative energies and let me play for you yesterday newt gingrich in particular has talked about gas prices. >> how can he say drilling doesn't work when drilling does work for natural gas, and drilling does work for saudi arabia? i mean, this is clearly baloney. i'm prepared to debate the president any time, any place. i do not think he can defend this policy. >> is there a little risk for the president in some of these questions, and even by putting the focus on gas prices, which again, as karen just said, the polls show are fot working for the president obviously. is he playing into the republican's hands. >> first of all, i don't think it's baloney what newt gingrich said. production is up from foreign

sources are down. that's the only way in the long run that we're going to get control of gas prices, is to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil, which are so volatile in terms of the world price. i mean, the president has made tremendous strides in alternative energy, as i said, and in production. and there's so many things going on with respect to gas prices that are outside of the hands of george bush. gas prices under him went up to over $4 a gallon in the spring of 2008. i don't know what newt gingrich was saying then but, you know, the american people know that there's no silver bullet in this issu issue. >> he wasn't running for re-election, so it wasn't a problem for him. >> no, but short term gas prices, it's very hard for any president, for congress, for any domestic policy to control. but what they're saying about

the president, chris, is a lot. you know, they're saying that he's opposed to drilling. this president has -- this administration has offered more leases in the gulf, more leases inland, production is up, yet gas prices continue to rise. because the crude oil prices are set on the international market. the president understands that this is a bite to consumer pocketbooks. that's why he's trying to find other ways to truce the tax burden on the american people. >> obviously this is a key piece of the puzzle that is the economy, and mitt romney's folks along with newt gingrich saying he would love to have a debate with the president on economic policies. yesterday joe biden was all fired up over the auto bailout. >> governor romney was more direct. let detroit go bankrupt. the president, he didn't flinch. this is a man with steel in his spine. he made the tough call, and the

verdict is in. president was right and they were dead wrong. >> but there's a clear division on this, as there are on a lot of the issues. but the republicans believe that with gas prices up, unemployment still high in so many parts of the country and as a result of gas prices, food prices and other necessities going up as well, that they have a winning argument on the basic pocketbook issues and the president loses. >> with all do respect to the more recent polling on gas prices, gallup had a result today that said the country's optimism on job growth is up. we saw claims for unemployment last week drop to the lowest point in four years. the stock market is up. nasdaq is up. if they want a debate about the economy and the auto industry. as vice president biden showed yesterday. we're eager to have the debate. if mitt romney wants to explain

why he finished 47th out of 50th in job creation as governor of massachusetts. and that somehow qualifies him to know about job growth, let's bring it on. >> brad woodhouse, it's good to see you. thank you. >> thanks, chris, for having me. >> let me bring in karen and michael. we've been hearing the president wants to tout what he thinks of as his big domestic accomplishments. it includes the health care overhaul and the stimulus. let me play a little part of that. >> i regularly told him, look, you don't have to spill this much political blood. >> but he knew from experience the cost of waiting. >> when my mom got cancer she wasn't a wealthy woman, and it pretty much drained all her resources. >> is it playing to the base? we know health care is going to be one of the big debates of this. the polls have been all over. where do you see this 17-minute

video touting health care going here. >> look, i think it's an attempt to damage control. they know they really lost control of the definition and the fight over the health care plan. they know that it become very unpopular. much more so than they realized it would be when they were fighting for it. so this is the beginning of an effort to repair the damage, remind people about the good things that they like, that they would miss if the bill got repealed. so they're trying to set it up better over the course of the summer so when they know the attacks are coming, whoever the republican nominee will be will use the health care bill as a way to drive up republican base voters and also try to get the swing voters to move over to their side. and the obama administration knows they're going to have to have the fight, and they're trying to get ahead of it. >> and they're trying to fire up the base with the 300 viewing parties. they want to get the volunteer training going. maybe a little bit of fund

raising. some of the people that can write the $200 checks. the "washington post" describes it as, i'm talking about the docu-drama, docu-ganda. meaning part documentary with a piece of propaganda. is it smart? it is slick? it is both? is it going to fire up the base? >> i don't know how many people will see it at these house parties compared to the people who are seeing pieces of it right here on msnbc, and we'll be seeing pieces of it as sort of bits and pieces are broadcast on television. but it does attempt to answer, i think, a question in a lot of swing voters mind, which is why did obama do all this. why did he decide to take on this gigantic fight over health care when the rest of the economy was in so much trouble. and it's also -- when you talk about firing up the base, what they really really need to do to win this time is to get back the

voters they brought in 2008 that disappeared in 2010. young people. a lot of minority voters. the kind of people who got excited about obama. they are trying to convince them that, yes, he did keep his promises of 2008. and do they think when you compare him, and he's been so energetic, so enthusiastic. he's been fired up. that by comparison to mitt romney, it's going to work again? >> i think, they think so. they recognize what karen said is right, which is that they've seen the coalition with her a little bit over 3.5 very tough years, very sort of policy oriented years where some of that passion is gone. i mean, i think they need too try to get him cool again among the base. and then they need to figure out some way to appeal to the independents who, you know, who have sort of gone back and forth. and they're somewhat encouraged in chicago that the republican

primary, as it's progressed, has turned off a lot of the independent voters who may be inclined to come back to president obama. but that's by no means certain. we have eight long months to go. so i think they're recognizing that. and the video is an attempt to start the process. >> when i looked it up i saw 235 days. i was like, i can't believe it. it seems like we've been going for at least 235. but it's not been dull. karen tumulty, michael sheer, thanks to you both. we appreciate it. we want to get you caught up in the case in afghanistan and the lawyer for the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan villagers tells nbc news the defense will likely focus on post-traumatic stress disorder. john helpry brown, who also represented ted bundy and the infamous barefoot bandit spoke with the soldier on the phone. here's how he describes his state of mind. >> in shock. i did encourage him not to speak

about details of anything on the phone. i believe they'll be monitored. i told them we would be coming to see him or he would be coming to see us quite soon. >> he also says when the 11-year veteran heard he was being sent afghanistan last year after tours of duties in iraq. we have customers all over the united states. we rely on the postal service for everything that we do. the eastern main processing facility is vital. if we lose the processing facility, we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. we would have to consider layoffs. closure of this plant will affect all of us. 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 two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band.

[ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday.

mitt romney's team may be showing the strain of a longer than expected campaign wchlt the latest poll showing a dead heat against rick santorum in illinois, romney made a stop there already today, a day earlier than expected. before going onto puerto rico for an evening rally in san juan. and four days before the illinois primaries, the candidate and his super pac will very spent $3.5 million there on advertising. compare that to 310,000 by a

pro-santorum group. and new reports that the romney camp is showing signs of financial stress. let's go live to san juan and nbc's peter alexander. looks beautiful, peter. let me start with illinois. how concerned is the campaign that santorum could pull off an upset? >> i think it's a good question. campaign officials are not going to say that they're confident. why did it matter. now illinois. in keeping with the theme of the strong organization that the romney campaign has, win of the benefits is the unique balance system. republican voters won't just vote for the candidate they like, but also specifically for the dal gats and the romney campaign. the establishment in the republican party. a lot f the delegates people will be voting for will recognize the names and they believe it will be another asset come next tuesday's primary.

>> those candidates have been campaigning hard in puerto rico and sunday's primary. where does the situation stand there now? >> governor romney arrives two hours from now. 2:30 he'll be on the island. this evening he'll have a get out the vote rally with a man who may be good for his success. he's the governor of the territory. this are 20 territories at steak here. it's more delegates at steak than in new hampshire, vermont or hawaii. rick santorum caused a stir and had to defend himself against a lot of anger. public officials upset with his comment that they would have a requirement english become the main language. he says he was maliciously misquoted. a lot of frustration among the

supporters he had here. >> thank you so much, peter alexander. beautiful sunshine of puerto rico. let's bring in national political reporter for the atlantic, hi, molly. how ru you? >> it's always interesting about the nis steps. the candidates say they're misquoted. you just heard what peter said. he said what he really wanted to say is english is one language that has to be spoken. and then, of course, spanish is the other one. do you think that something like that, and we've seen it so many times in campaigns past, can make a difference in a place like puerto rico? >> absolutely. this is a very sensitive subject. the you listen to what he said, he can't claim he was misquoted. what he said is he misspoke. he did misspeak. he claims there was a legal requirement that didn't exist. he insulted people about their native language. so i think that's the thing that does hurt him in the primary. >> let's go to tuesday's

illinois primary. there's a pro-santorum super pac that's unleashed. >> meet the real mitt romney. supported the wall street bailout putting america trillions in debt. raised job killing taxes and fees by $700 million, leaving massachusetts over a billion in debt. his health care take over, the blueprint for obama care. >> we're still talking, though, a 10-1 advantage by mitt romney in ad spending. it is the same thing that happened in ohio. it is the same thing that happened in michigan, being so vastly outspent. what are the chances that rick santorum can overcome that? i it mainly as protest vote against mitt romney. it's also how the conservative base feels. it will be hard to overcome the spending advantage.

romney is making up for the fact that he's much better known than rick santorum. a lot of people gravitating to rick santorum don't know his record as well. all the negative things that rick santorum and his super pac are putting out against mitt romney are largely things that voters already know. >> you raise this eloquently in your article titled has mitt romney run a lousy campaign? he's having to spend a lot more money. he's trimming back field staff. he's relying more on free media coverage. relying more on his super pac. give us a synopsis of your article and how bad the campaign has been run? >> well i'm talking to a lot of critics. it's easy to say they're all sitting on the sidelines. but there's a lot of jitters among the republican party people not involved in the campaign. they look at how the romney pain keeps getting surprised and caught flat footed by the same mistakes over and over again

that they shouchb able to anticipate in ohio. they raised expectations so high and couldn't beat themment came in third. they keep looking bad. they keep getting surprised. the problem is they don't seem to have any self awareness or self doubt or any questioning. so as they're scrambling and things are going badly for them, they're projecting the impression that everything is fine, we're running the show. nothing to worry about. they have a strict new law that would require them to show a driver's license or other form of government-issued photo id to vote in the state. this is the ninth state to toughen voter id laws. critics say fraud was extremely rare and the law makes it more difficult for the poor, the

elderly and the minorities to vote. history. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor... [ tires screech ] ...night view... and heads-up display. [ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. looking for low prices. that burns a lot of gas. yep. want to see if this walmart low price guarantee can help you out with that? ok! every week they lower thousands of prices and check over 30,000 competitor prices. check out that low price. you want to grab one? grab two. what happens if she does find a lower advertised price somewhere else? i'll match it right here. so what did you learn today? every dollar counts and now i get to bring more home to my family. [ male announcer ] that's the walmart low price guarantee! see for yourself how much it can save you.

crisp, clear, untouched. that's why there's brita, to make the water we drink, taste a little more, perfect. reduce lead and other impurities with the advanced filtration system of brita. reduce lead and other impurities ah, welcome to hotels.com.

i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah! yeah! noooo. yeah! finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com 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.

to politics now. we're seeing a lot of george clooney on the hill this week. right now the oscar winning is protesting at the sudanese embassy in washington. he's drawn quite the crowd. he wants to draw attention, in fact, to sudan's president. they say he's blocking a humanitarian crisis by blocking food from parts of the country. this week george clooney testified at a state senate hearing and was part of the council on foreign relations. he'll be a guest on "meet the press" this sunday. john edwards is changing his defense team. the former presidential candidate facing charges he broke campaign finance laws. interesting, though, he's now hiring the same attorney who helped his mistress, riel hunter. and are you ready for super pacs? the music video.

check out more of the video. it's on our facebook page, which is, of course, facebook/jansingco. and it's back. ipad man ya is taking over the nation. 360 investing dashboard. e-trade 360 is the world's first investing homepage that shows you where all your investments are and what they're doing with free streaming quotes, news, analysis and even your trade ticket. everything exactly the way you want it, all on one page. transform your investing with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard. transform your investing 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. lay down a new look - with earthgro mulch, now 3 bags for just 10 bucks.

in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check.

here's a look at stories people are talking about. a suspected tornado ripped through michigan, destroying or seriously damaging about 100 homes in the path. almost miraculously, no one was seriously hurt. the national weather service says the storm has winds about 135 miles per hour, and it was on the ground for half an hour. california police are looking for the mother of an iraq war veteran who may be hurt after her son shot and killed his 11-year-old sister before killing himself. nvlgt to investigators found the body after a roommate saw them.

they found evidence inside the home that indicates her mother may be hurt. amanda knox's ex-boyfriend will bet to tell the world about the murder case that made them famous before she will. rafael solisito has a deal for a book that will come out this fall. it's called "presumed guilty: my journey to hell and back with amanda knox." knox's book isn't coming out until next year. the third version of the ipad is flying off store shelves today. take a look at the scene. this is the apple store on 5th avenue in new york. the new ipad goes on sale at 8:00 a.m. local time across the country. cnbc technology contributor natalie morris is live outside the apple store in new york. still standing. which we're happen to see. when it comes to hike over product launches, apple takes a backseat to no one. what's going on?

>> that's for sure. it's an ugly, rainy day in new york city. the people behind me in line could careless. they've been here for hours, sometimes day. it becomes a ritual. in california, apple cofounder steve wozniack was in line. he doesn't have to wait in line. he wants to. because it's a fun event. i talked to one 11-year-old boy who was fourth in line. he got here at 6:30 a.m. he used all the money he saved up from hanukkah. >> that's so sweet. there are people looking at the reviews and saying should i or shouldn't i? is it worth getting the new version, or if you're not a crazy tech people who that has to have everything the newest the latest? or can you pay less and get the old version? >> it depends where you are in the product line, if you've been waiting to get an ipad or any tablet, this might be the one

for you. it's really a spectacular tablet. the display is beautiful. the camera is beautiful. it's really super speedy. if you are an ipad 2 user, like the one i'm using here, may not be worth it to upgrade this generation. they are very similar devices. so that's what the early reviews are saying. in terms of performance and speed and beauty, it's really the same grade as the ipad 2, which is all a's. >> natalie morris is braving the crowds and the rain in new york. thank you. to the women's vote now, and the growing number of bills in state houses that deal with contraception and abortion. more than 400 introduced so far this year. one in arizona is really raising eyebrows now. liberal blogs have dubbed it, tell your boss you're on the pill bill. it would require women who want to get reimbursed for birth control pills have to prove they're getting it for medical reasons, say to prevent acne, not to prevent pregnancy.

joining us now is karen hunter, a pulitzer prize winning journalist and nbc contributor. she also covers congress for the daily beast. let me read to you. we expected to have the sponsor of the bill, the arizona representative debbie on. we have not heard from her. we cannot find her this morning. i want to read this quote from her. we don't live in the soviet union. government shouldn't be telling employers, catholic organizations and mom and pop businesses to do something that's against their moral beliefs. karen, your reaction? >> i'm dumbfounded by this woman even presenting this bill. this is about privacy. to force a woman to tell her boss that she's on the the pill. >> you have to bring him a note. >> that strikes the

constitution. that's part of the right as a citizen of the united states to have the medical records private. i don't understand how this woman could justify doing this. it's ridiculous. >> patricia, it is part of a larger narrative. what do you think is going on with now 420 plus bills like this? >> it's a narrative they're losing. 77% of all americans, not just women, don't think it should be part of a political debate. it should be between a woman and her doctor. the republicans had an opening. they had a good good argument. should religious and catholic organizations have to cover it? they have stepped in it. they have gone so far. this is a classic overreach. when you're in a hole, stop digging. there's nobody to get them to cut it out. i want to talk about texas. the feds have cut off of dollars

in medicaid funding because texas cut funding for planned parenthood. here's what perry had to say. still the governor of the state. >> we don't want planned parenthood and their affiliate who is are in the abortion business engage in the process. this is pretty straight up. >> under federal laws the moneys are not allowed to go to abortion, at all. >> well, we would rather be very sure of it. >> is this, karen, where we're starting to see the real impact of these things? >> yeah. i expected him to say oops in that particular clip. you know, he stepped on his words once again. what's next are they going to ask us to put planter with chips to notify the employers if we're having sex outside of a marriage. it's going so far. the majority of women, by the way, barack obama won by 13 points, the female vote, care about the economy and jobs.

they don't care about the issue. why are they making it an issue that they're self destructing. >> yesterday we saw u.s. senators updating the violence against women act, which has been updated again and again and again. now for the first time there's opposition to this. take a listen. >> i might i i was stunned by the vote. never before had there been any controversy in all of more than a decade and a half. >> this shouldn't be about politics. protecting women against violence should not be a partisan issue. >> these are the lives of our friends, our neighbors, our daughters. >> patricia, we are talking about a bill that protects women against domestic violence. and as i said, it's been renewed again and again and again. what's going on in the senate? >> you're right. this bill passed the senate unanimously. it passed almost unanimously.

what's going on is democrats have inserted provisions to expand the benefits to same-sex couples and to illegal immigrants. if women don't have legal status, they could still be the beneficiaries of the bill. democratic women, republican women, every woman in the senate is a cosponsor of the bill. it doesn't matter where you were born. if you're a victim of violence, you're a victim of violence. the republicans say, listen, this is an election year. women in the senate and both parties say it's crucial to get this passed. it expired last year. the funding needs to be renewed. at every level republicans seem to be on the wrong side of women. women are the majority of the electorate. 55% in every general election. women are the majority of the electorate. i think they're setting themselves up in november for a very bad year. women are seeing a pattern at

every level. >> patricia murphy, karen hunter, thanks for coming on. these have led to rising questions over how extreme and divided the nation has become. and here's another instance. civil rights activists are outraged over this billboard. obviously it has a disturbing picture. and the line slaves obey your masters. and it was put up in a very racially diverse neighborhood in harris burg, pennsylvania. by an atheist group, that claims that the purpose of this is to show how evil the bible is. joe watkins is not only a former aide to president bush, but he's also pastor of the christ evangelical lutheran church in philadelphia. joe, good to see you. good morning. >> good to see you, always, chris. >> we should say the billboard was torn down after one day. now the pennsylvania human relations commission is investigating. one of the quotes was, if this had been detroit there would have been a riot. what's your reaction when you see this? >> it's very hurtful. very mean spirited.

this was written in ad 62. the institution of slavery well predated u.s. slavery. as far back as 1762 bc it was already an established institution. and the text they're talking about was men to tell people to put on the whole armor. to put on the armor of christ. to put on love and forgiveness and all the things associated with christ. >> they say they want to draw attention to the state designation of 2012 as the year of the bible. the man behind the billboard tells us, and i'm quoting here. being a former ordained minister, it was versions like this that drove me to atheism. >> they have the right to say

what they believe. in this particular case it's very hurtful and very offensive to lots of people. lots of people living in the 21st century, hearing that and seeing that slant on the bible. the verse was meant to draw people to a higher good. to understand who christ is and to set their hearts and minds and things above, not on things on earth. he wrote it while he himself was almost a slave. he was a prisoner in prison. unjustly in prison. he wrote it saying i'm obeying my captors, the people imprisoning me. i want you, as christian people to have that mind, that kind of heart. it's unfortunate that anybody would take this verse out of context and use it to hurt people. especially people of color. >> joe, i want to ask you the same question. and obviously this con textually very different. i think it's part of the larger narrative about where we are as a country and the the divisions and the kind of ways we treat each other. this is an atheist group

planning more billboards. i don't know what they're going to look like. but they are very upset about this being the year of the bible. where do you put this, sort of the in the general conversation about where we are as a country? >> it's a great point that you raise, chris. we are so divided as a country. unfortunately in politics today. they're so often driven by negative. by finding what divides us. by highlighting the bad things about the other person running for office. and that's a sad, sad reality. we don't celebrate the things that draw us together. we don't call people to look to the greater good or follow their angels. if people running for office did that, we would have a less

divisive. it's called pink slime. the belief is it may be in your kids' lunch meat. the details on the by-product ban coming up next. my employees are like family. and, i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy. vo: earn points for the things you're already buying. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. i worked at the colorado springs mail processing plant for 22 years. we processed on a given day about a million pieces of mail. checks, newspapers, bills. a lot of people get their medications only through the mail. small businesses depend on this processing plant. they want to shut down 3000 post offices,

cut 100,000 jobs. they're gonna be putting people out of work everywhere. the american people depend on the postal service. is this where we're at now? we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber one. 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. ♪

hi, everybody, i'm thomas roberts. the agenda last hour, how rick santorum caused quite a stir on what he said on the stump. why they're saying adios. the war on war shifting now to a war on men and a vendetta over viagra. why men all across the country will be clutching their little blue pill bottles. and shamus on you. could it hurt him? we'll look at that, chris. >> thomas, thank you. schools across the country will be table to take pink slime off the lunch menu. they can use meat with or without the controversial filler

starting next fall. the decision comes following calls to ban the product from mekong woman shelly pingrey. she joins me on the phone now. good morning. >> caller: good morning. how are you. >> i'm well. let me get your reaction. does this go far enough? >> i don't think it goes far enough. schools can continue to purchase meat on the side. this comes through the commodity program at a discount to schools. a lot won't be in the financial decision to say i'm going to go on the open market and buy my meat instead of the commodity program. if your school department has enough money, your kids are eating healthy beef, if not, you're stuck with the stuff that used to be allowed in dog food. >> the usda says it complies with federal regulations. that the process has been around for 20 years. it's safe. a retired micro biologist says

it's probably safer than raw ground beef. >> i'm not saying your child is going to get sick. let's face it. mcdonald's decide to take it off the menu. if mcdonald's isn't serving, do we want our kids to be eating this every day at school? >> ultimately, do you want to see it banned? they're making it look like dog food. >> yeah, when you see a picture of pink slime, you know, there's a lot of people interested in knowing more about where the food comes. seeing all the ingredients in it. people like to think that hamburger is just ground beef. they take a piece of meat, gribd it up, and it's a hamburger. the fact you understand all the extra pieces that have been ground together and put together with a knammonia substance, it

doesn't sound like anything you want to eat. how many ingredients are there? do i need more children eating something they won't serve at mcdonald's? it's raising a lot of questions. i think they have a right to talk about what their kids are eating at school. >> congresswoman, thanks so much. keep us posted on how it's going. >> absolutely. >> i want to take you to washington, d.c. george clooney, the actor and activist who has been spending so much time over the last couple of days talking about the crisis. the humanitarian crisis in sudan has just, we are told, gotten arrested. he's there at the protest. he at one point ran for congress. naacp president president is there. a number of congressmen, including the democratic virginia man, jim moran. today accused sudan's president of starting the humanitarian

crisis by blocking food aid from getting into the mountains there. this is in the country's border with south sudan. there you see his dad, nick clooney. we're trying to get in there. there you see the head of the naacp. so we're going to keep following this for you. but again, a big protest. a big protest outside the sudanese embassy with george clooney. assuming, and i'm pretty confident in this, that he'll be able to get himself out of jail if he's taken to jail. he's going to be on "meet the press." but there we see him. he's actually handcuffed. walking over. we don't know if there's trespassing charges involved here or exactly what's going on. but they knew, i think, going on, because this is private property, that there was a chance they would get arrested, they they would get happened cuffed. that they would be charged ch

having said that. he has spoken eloquently in the past about the power of celebrity. his feeling that it's incumbent upon him for the success he's had to use the celebrity in a positive way, in the way that his close friends like brad pitt and angelina jolie have done with their own work. angelina jolie as a un ambassador. and sudan is a crisis he really needs to believe needs to get a lot of attention. and he's been impressed with the personal frts as well. so the group had a sign up called sudan stop the weapons of mass starvation. jornl clo george clooney, his dad and others under arrest with a huge amount of attention being paid

to it. ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. your hair mixes with pollen and dust in the air. i get congested. my eyes itch. i have to banish you to the garden. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. ♪ i can breath freer with zyrtec-d®. so i'll race you to our favorite chair. i might even let you win. zyrtec-d® lets me breath easier, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

george clooney is under arrest. it was something he anticipated to draw attention to a humanitarian crisis there. here's what he had to say a few minutes ago. >> the second thing we are here to ask is a very simple thing, is for the government to stop randomly killing innocent men, women and children. stop raping them and stop starving them. >> and that's a big focus for aid organizations that have been trying to get in there on the border of sudan and now south sudan and get help to the people there along the border. we saw clooney and his dad nick being arrested. martin luther king jr. iii. this is something george clooney is very passionate about.

he believes as one of the highest paid and certainly one of the most famous actors in the world he can really draw attention to this that would otherwise be ignored. we'll have more throughout the day on msnbc. that's going to wrap up this hour of "jansing and co." i'm chris jansing. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you can't create a retirement plan based on ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a predetermined script. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we actually take the time to listen -

ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to understand you and your goals... ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...so together we can find real-life answers for your ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 real-life retirement. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and let's write a script based on your life story. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious.

email, talk. directions, applications... my phone's dead, uh, my business is dead. my phone battery starts blinking... beep, beep, beep... no, no, don't run out... boom phone dies. really?...really?? [ man ] so this phone lasts longer than any other phone? -this is sweet. -it feels really sleek. it's super thin. the 4g is so fast. this is cool. if i could use my phone all day, i'd definitely feel more powerful. [ male announcer ] the all day. all night. droid razr maxx by motorola. the longest talk time of any 4g smartphone. now at verizon. ♪

battle for illinois. mitt romney unleashing millions in campaign cash to win a state he should be cruising in right now. why do polls point to a possible santorum upset? game on. president obama in full campaign mode. embarking on fife fund-raisers in one day. tom hanks narrated film and synchronized speeches with vice president biden and president obama. has the war on women become a war on