layoffs. "hungers games". >> and the former new jersey governor making headlines again. but first, two big new developments in the death of trayvon martin at this hour. the attorney for admitted shooter george zimmerman is talking. and we're hearing from zimmerman for the first time since this became a national issue. ron allen joins us in florida. >> reporter: someone is speaking out on george zimmerman's behalf. he is maintaining that zimmerman did, in fact, shoot trayvon martin in self-defense. nothing changed there. he also said there are going to be more friends and supporters of zimmerman's coming forward in the coming days to tell his side of the story. on local television news, his attorney said george zimmerman is feeling a lot of stress, well aware of the outrage across the nation and the demands for his

arrest by trayvon martin's family and legions of supporters. zimmerman is also very much aware of death threats. >> i have advised him to stay out of the public eye as much as he can. i don't know where he is. >> reporter: he said zimmerman's nose was broken and the back of his head injured, wounds that zimmerman told police he suffered when the unarmed teenager, trayvon martin, attacked him. in a sign of the escalating tension here, police arrested a minnesota for allegedly e-mailing a threat to kill sanford police chief, bill lee, that said "coming after you". lee has temporarily stepped down under pressure for defending the decision not to arrest zimmerman. meanwhile, a team of special prosecutors just adisappointed by florida's governor has now started a new independent investigation into what happened between what happened.

while zimmerman's attorney launches a public defense, the client remains silent, except for this message left on a telephone answering machine, played for "dateline" sunday by one of the accused killer's neighbors and fellow crime watch volunteers. >> i wanted to thank you for doing everything you've been doing, i know you don't have to and i appreciate it. i'll talk to you soon. thanks. >> reporter: that attorney also went to some great lengths to say that zimmerman is not a racist and that this incident had nothing to do with the color of trayvon martin's skin. he said also that the police confiscated the gun that zimmerman used to shoot trayvon martin. >> i'll tell you, the reaction today, has anything quieted down? it's a weekend. we're told the police department is not scheduling any press conferences to discuss it. but in terms of the neighborhood, the community, do you still see the outrage?

>> reporter: well, things are relatively quiet. it is a weekend. but there is a demonstration planned here in about an hour by an organization called the new black panther party. they've been circulating fliers and petitions seen as very aggressive. some of them saying "wanted, george zimmerman." he's perceive that had as a threat. 23 no idea how large a crowd is going to be here. but there's some measure of protest every day. >> ron allen in sanford, thank you, ron. >> how might this case change? race relations and behavioral patterns. we'll be speaking with bob herbert and melissa harris perry. we've been asking you, are we any closer to justice for trayvon? better that the wheels of justice for us grind slow and sure than not at all. but there can be none for trayvon for he is not here and should be.

and, right now there is no justice being served for trayvon. this man pulled a gun and killed this defenseless child for no reason. what is wrong with our justice system? find me on facebook at facebook.com/alexwittmsnbc. it's primary day in louisiana for the gop presidential hopefuls. polls have been open for more than five hours. they close tonight at 9:00 eastern time. the latest polls showed rick santorum in the lead. and the secret service is now looking into comments made by a woman at a rick santorum campaign stop in louisiana friday. take a listen to this -- secret service officials are trying to identify and find that woman that you heard there saying "pretend it's obama." santorum did not hear the comment because he was wearing protective earmust haffs but di

respond -- >> we're not pretending we're shooting pistols and -- very horrible remark. i'm glad i didn't hear it. >> joining me now, congressional reporter felicia sanchez and reed wilson. felicia, who do we expect to win today? is it going to be a blowout for rick santorum? he's been leading untin the pol in louisiana. >> one of the key factors to watch is in any state where the electorate has been more than 50% evangelical christian, mitt romney has not come out on top. it would seem to be a good thing for rick santorum. but it's also important to keep in mind that this will not

determine all of the states' delegates. only 20 of the 46 in play are going to get chosen based on today's results. it's a little more important in terms of the narrative and the momentum in the race and less so when it comes to the actual delegate strategy. >> the delegate strategy, the rest come in june at the state convention? >> right. there are caucuses next month. and then it's a sort of multistep process where throughout the summer they're going to be choosing them. he may have a big win in terms of the numbers. that's something to look at in determining whether he keeps going. but it's not going to give him a major win over romney. >> it begs the question, if santorum with a commanding lead over his rivals, what would a win in louisiana do to fit into the overall picture? >> one thing it does is it knocks down newt gingrich who's relying on this southern strategy, spent some time in new orleans at tulane university when he was a younger man. but it sort of extends this for another week. mitt romney is only nine

delegates away from hitting the halfway point on his march towards the 1,144 he actually needs to secure the nomination. but at the end of the day, this is one more step that's going to delay that process a little. take a look next week when primaries are going to happen here in washington, d.c., out in maryland and up in wisconsin. those are three great places for romney. in d.c., rick santorum's not even on the ballot. so romney's sort of slow march towards the nomination is going to continue. this demonstrates that he's got some problems with a key part of the republican base. >> felicia, we know that rick santorum made the headlines in a statement this week. take a listen to the statement. >> you win by giving people a choice. you win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who's just going to be a little dicht than the person in there. if they're going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have rather than

taking a risk on who may be the etch a sketch candidate for the future. >> he said he would never vote for president obama over any republican. what does this statement do to the gop? >> it was very classic rick santorum here. he's trying to make the case he's the most electable candidate in the case and the best choice for republicans to make a contrast with president obama in the fall. but in doing that, he really stepped in it and made the opposite point which is that he's someone who cannot be relied on to stay on message and hit home this message to the gop electorate that he is someone who is reliable and will not be sort of stepping on his own message there. i think that ended up doing him more harm than good there. some prominent supporters have publicly criticized him for that. he walked it back on fox business network this week. but that interview was not one that ended up as a net positive for rick santorum. it's just the latest, i think,

in the string of problematic comments that he has made where they were completely self-inflicted wounds he's delivered to himself and doesn't help him make the case against mitt romney in the broader battle. >> do you think rick santorum can walk back this statement? >> yeah. he needs to run a perfect campaign in order to win. but the big story was the etch a sketch comment. and rick santorum was trying to make that point during that comment. i think the etch a sketch comment the romney adviser made is going to stick with him. it fits in the with the patterns of romney stepping on himself every time he has a good day and the larger narrative the democrats are going to try to paint of the eventual republican nominee who doesn't have a consistent viewpoint and flip-flops all over the place. it fit in so well with that narrative. >> let's talk about the trayvon martin case. we heard comments from the gop candidates about this.

he also heard from the president who made a very powerful statement. let's listen to this. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son, he'd look like trayvon. >> there must have been some sort of internal debate within the white house about this statement. how do you think they determined exactly what the president would say? was there something of a tipping point? >> i think from what we know from what he's been reported, there were definitely conversations about this in the white house. this is something they were aware would come up at some point and the president, it's been reported, had been staying very closely on top of all the news stories about this. so it's understandable that this is probably something -- an issue that he had been turning over in his own mind. i thought what was interesting about his response was, first of all, he did not take the initiative in this. he waited for a reporter, mike viqueira of nbc, to bring this up at a totally unrelated news conference. when it was brought up, it was clear he was prepared. and it was in a way that was so

sharply contrasting with the way the white house dealt with the last time a big issue of race relations in the country came up in 2009, the arrest of the harvard professor, henry lewis gates. >> and the beer summit. >> right. and the president stepped in it that time. this time, he didn't make that same mistake. he described the entire issue in very personal terms and avoided taking sides in it. you're seeing the reactions on both sides here, he's getting a lot more praise for that compared to three years ago. >> the gop candidates spoke about it but not until the president did so first. any thoughts as to why they allowed the president to take the lead there? >> i'm not sure they were asked about it to begin with. but it largely brings up just sort of how touchy the subject of race in america is. this is not something that we're comfortable talking about in open society. it's still, even though we've

elected an african-american president, it still puts a lot of pressure on people to sort of get things right. i think this was a real dangerous situation that they didn't really know how to handle. eventually they ended up saying things largely along the same lines as president obama did. >> reed and felicia, many thanks. >> thanks a lot. as we mentioned, 20 delegates are at stake in today's primary in louisiana. the polls close at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. race and racism in america, following the death of trayvon martin, my conversation with bob herbert and melissa harris perry when "weekends with alex witt" returns.

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more now on the death of trayvon martin. the killing is sparking new protests and fresh questions about race and racism in america. one of the more striking moments, for me, came when trayvon's father walked us through the crime scene. it aired on "politics nation." weers one comment from trayvon's father, tracy martin. >> it's sad that my kid's life is lost, my kid's life is gone all because -- i don't think it was a misunderstanding. i think zimmerman got out with the intents on doing something to trayvon. >> joining me now here former "new york times" columnist bob herbert and melissa harris perry. melissa, you just spent the better part of two hours talking

about this on your show. can you distill where you heard from your guests where we are today, 28 days after the shooting? >> for me, i think there are a couple of different parts. one is a question about what happened in the interaction between mr. zimmerman and trayvon martin and whether or not anything could have changed what happened there. did zimmerman have a set of opinions about this young boy who he saw, some assumptions about who he was? was there something about how neighborhood watch operated that allowed zimmerman to believe he had the right to do this? there's one set of stories there. then the other set of questions sbt about how the police behaved after martin was killed. the first is really zimmerman and trayvon's interaction. and the ones that are in less dispute are that at some point, these police officers stood on a scene with a man with a gun and an unarmed boy who had been killed and they chose not to make an arrest. and so as much as there's a great deal of tragedy in the

first part, there's a lot of anger about the second part because the tragedy happens. but then why is there no attempt to bring justice? >> yeah. and i guess the question, bob, when you listen to these 911 calls, there seems to be a sense of racial profiling. we have george zimmerman calling in and making assumptions about the young man that he sees in front of him or that he's sort of patrolling. how difficult a line is this to walk now in figuring out if it was racially motivated or not? >> i don't think it's a difficult line at all. and i think this is the essential issue we hear on the 911 calls. zimmerman saying, he has his hand in his waistband and he's a black male, as though this is something that makes him suspicious to begin with. so it seems to me -- and then of course there was this awful profile racial comment that we heard on the enhanced tapes, that he's alleged to have made. >> right. >> so there's not a doubt in my

mind that this was a racially motivated attack. and i think that that's the essential issue in this case. the amount of racial violence that still exists in this country and our willingness as a society to tolerate this violence. >> and this may have been, melissa, the work of one bad actor who had these grand illusions of becoming some sort of a law enforcement official and had failed heretofore to achieve that. how many other guys are out there who may have racial motivations or racial questions? >> there's a bunch of big pictures here. is there something about george zimmerman's personal psychology and personal choice that is explained what happened in that moment? sure. but fact is that trayvon martin is not the only case of this. we talked on my show about the sean bell case which included police officers, some police officers of whom were police officers of color, right?

so part of what we've wanted to talk about, sit discriminatory opinions about who young black men are, the aassumptions that young black men are criminals, violent or potentially dangerous, they don't reside just in the bodies of one or two non-black people, that people who are also african-american, people who have other racial backgrounds, that part of it has to do with an american mindset that assumes that a little 17-year-old african-american boy is potential of great violence. >> it's not just this idea or this stereotype that young african-american guys are dangerous. it goes to prejudice against black people in general. we have in the papers right now the story out in mississippi where these teenagers, group of teenagers pleaded guilty to running over a black man who was middle aged, 47 or 48 years old, deliberately with their pick-up truck. and they would go into jackson, mississippi, specifically to find african-americans to attack.

i mean, there is tremendous racism in the society. and we just continue to tolerate it, even in new york with the police -- melissa was talking about the sean bell case. but you have 600,000 instances a year of the police stopping people on the streets, in many cases, frisking them, humiliating them in public. 90% have done nothing at all and the vast majority are african-american or hispanic. >> that is something to contemplate and that takes a lot of time trying to figure out the whys behind that. but you look at what the president did yesterday by stepping into the conversation. he struck the absolutely perfect tone her because he, while talking about this in the sense that trayvon martin could be his son were he to have had a son, he would have looked like that, he also reached out to every parent across this country regardless of your color of your skin. and i think it was a home run. and yet he's still being criticized. >> i agree it was a home run

because who he did was he really humanized this case, which is how you begin to break down racism. when you get it away from the idea that it's just the abstract other and bring people's humanity into the situation, that's when people find it much more difficult to be racially intolerant. that's what happened in the civil rights movement when they started turning the fire hoses and the police dogs on absolutely innocent individuals and on children. >> it's also part of what's happening with the million hoodies march. i heard the president said, if i had a son, he would have looked like trayvon. i have a daughter and with a hoodie on, she looks like trayvon. under the right circumstances, any of our children, if someone decide that had that posture or that way of being indicated blackness or black maleness, even if in fact they weren't. i think there is a way that suddenly trayvon martin is all of our sons. so we need to ask about policies

like the "stand your ground" law that empower this kind of vigilanteism because all of our sons and daughters are potentially at risk. >> can any positives come out of this discussion, bob? >> what i think would be very positive is if protests continue so that the media spotlight remains not just on this case but on this issue. that would be a big positive. >> and i imagine that's going to -- we have folks like melissa harris perry. and i'm joining the crowd as well. we're not letting this go. >> but in the end, the justice will be for us and our sense of feeling better about being americans. trayvon martin has been slain. nothing we do is going to bring him back. there's a limitation to the kind of justice that is now possible. >> there's a limitation, but we want to prevent similar tragedies in the future. it's been going on much too long. >> absolutely has. bob herbert, melissa harris perry, very much thank you both for being here. watch melissa harris perry's show every weekend on msnbc. let's get to number five on our first five web stories.

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size as its android rival, the galaxy s2. formal charges have been filed in the killing of afghanistan civilians two weeks ago. robert bales could get the death penalty if convicted. john yang has the latest. >> reporter: these are the formal charges. they were read to robert bales inside the pretrial detention facility here at ft. leavenworth. 17 counts of premeditated murder, four victims were men, four women, nine were children. six counts of attempted murder in assault, four of them on children. bales is here until -- awaiting trial. the trial is not likely to be speedy. analysts say it could be many months before even a preliminary hearing in this case, and the trial itself may be more than a year away. all those proceedings are likely

to take place at joint base lewis-mccord in the seattle area, bales' home base, where he was based. it is also closer to his wife. but military officials tell nbc news bales is likely to continue to be held here at ft. leavenworth and make only periodic trips back to seattle for those court proceedings as they arise. alex? >> john, i'm curious, is the reason behind the potential move to the joint base lewis-mcchord because his family is base there had? i know he has two small children. would they be allowed to visit him, his family? >> reporter: absolutely. it would be easier for them to visit. whether that's behind the thinking, i don't know. it's also the headquarters -- one of the headquarters of the army criminal investigation division. that may play into it. he could be tried anywhere. but clearly they have decided to try him in the united states. he could be tried at any military base in the united states. there's also, quite frankly, a

military prison on the base at ft. lewis. he could be held there. but they've made the decision he will continue to be held here at ft. leavenworth and shuttled back and forth. mitt romney and rick santorum got their chance to pick their secret service code names this week. got some of us thinking about code names of the past. barbara bush was snoknown as snowbank. michelle obama is renaissance. is [ male announcer ] chicken broccoli alfredo.

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meantime, the lawyer for george zimmerman, the man who shot and killed martin, says he has not talked to his client about the night of the shooting but he says racism did not play a role in the unarmed teen's death. >> it's not an issue of racist -- racism. and i don't believe that george zimmerman is a racist or that this was motivated by a dislike for african-americans. >> we're also hearing from zimmerman for the first time since that shooting sparked national outrage. a "dateline" exclusive reveals a portion of a voice mail he left for a neighbor who has publicly supported him. >> i wanted to thank you for doing everything you've been doing. i know you don't have to, and i appreciate it. and you're truly setting an example for me for the future of doing the right thing even when it's tough. >> zimmerman's lawyer says his client is afraid for his life after receiving several death

threats. let's bring in alexis stojhill. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> i want to have you address that voice mail that was left and the man for whom george zimmerman left it. he's been out there publicly saying, look, the guy's a decent guying, he was doing his job, we haven't had problems with him before. is that very much in the vocal minority down in sanford where you've been reporting from? >> he's definitely the only person with that attitude. he was very genial with the press, helping us get stories. he's on a mission to make sure that people know that zimmerman is not a bad guy. a lot of people want to paint zimmerman as a cold-blooded murderer. he's not an evil human being. but he made a big mistake. the underpinning of that mistake, frank has made it his mission to bring that message to the press. >> what do you hear about the possibility of an arrest?

is there even certainty there will be one? >> there's no certainty there will be one. the removal of the original state attorney was a move on the part of governor scott to sort of make the public think we want to start this over with a clean slate. people were dissatisfied with the way the investigation was going. by bringing in angela corey, regardless of whether there's an arrest or not, people will feel that there's not a bias. regardless of where it goes, there's no guarantee of an arrest. she might not even take it to a grand jury. the original grand jury had been set for april 10th. she hasn't necessarily cancel that had one. but she's not promising there will be an in-depth investigation to that degree. she's going to make a decision whether to arrest him or not or have a deeper investigation through a grand jury. >> clearly george zimmerman was carrying that licensed zbun he

had. he has a license to carry a concealed weapon. but with regard to the homeowner's association there in that gated community, would they know he carried a gun? >> frank had an intimate relationship with zimmerman, which is probably one of the reasons he's so interested in defending him. he knew that frank carried a gun. he stated he had a permit to carry the gun. it was not seen as alarming to him. the idea he had it with him at all times, whether he was on patrol or not, the night that trayvon was terribly, unfortunately murdered, he had the gun with him but he was not on patrol. he was not on an official patrol. he was going to the store just like trayvon. he carried the gun all the time. i think the right of him to have a gun was definitely supported by the association and that they knew. >> alexic stodghill, thank you so much. >> we've been asking you, are we any closer to justice for trayvon? here are your some your tweets

to me. edward says, see how the shooter tried to turn the guilt on the innocent young man instead of saying it was an accident on his part. donna tweets, a horrible tragedy, good can come of it. everyone must raise awareness across the board. this tweet says, i don't think the trayvon case has to do as much with race as it has to do with the law. another tweet says, he should finally stand his ground and admit he was playing mr. police and murdered this child. another tweet, we are closer to justice. history shows when america speakings on one accord, good things happen. keep talking to me. let's go now to "strategy talk." the rhetoric among the republican presidential candidates has intensified. the spotlight is shifting from mitt romney to rick santorum. a big week ahead for health

care reform as the law heads to the supreme court on monday just in time for its two-year anniversary. joining me is republican strategist wesley donohue and democratic strategist keith boykin. gentlemen, welcome. thank you for being here. >> hey, alex. >> keith, i'll start with you. does president obama's campaign gain anything from rick santorum's etch a sketch statement? >> i don't think it does. i think the administration is going to benefit in general because of what's going on with the republican field, the war that's going on between them and the whole perception by the public in general that mitt romney as well is just this guy who has no real core. there's three sort of perceptions about mitt romney. one is that he is out of touch. the second is that he is some sort of rich guy. and the third is that he'll say or do anything, he'll flip-flop

his positions. this whole etch a sketch within the republican party confirms all that. >> how hard can republican candidates start attacking each other before they start cannibalizing the republican party? >> softer than that. making comments like that is doing nothing but cannibalizing our party. it was a stupid thing to say. it shows the rick santorum campaign has jumped the shark. whenever you have the other republicans saying president obama is better, that completely does nothing but destroy our party and hurt our chances of taking the white house in november. >> let's switch a bit to health care reform because we know that the supreme court begins on monday hearing the arguments on this health care reform law. president obama was quiet about it on the law's two-year anniversary yesterday while mitt romney had an op ed arguing against it. and a ceremony was held on capitol hill. what role do you see health care playing in the general election?

>> i think it will play a role. it's going to be hard for mitt romney to make that argument because he did write another op ed in 2009 where he basically said that his massachusetts health care reform plan could be used as a model for the united states. he said if the president followed his plan and didn't use a public option that republicans would support it. the president used tax penalties, the republicans would support it. if the president decided to use exchanges, the republicans would support it. and in each case, the president followed exactly what mitt romney told him to do and the republicans still didn't support it. it's going to be hard for them to use that against president obama. once people get the impact of the health care law, they're going to appreciate it more. >> on a lighter note, we have seen candidates in the south eating their grits saying "y'all," they all do it. but you don't see the candidates pandering to the voters in the northeast or on the west coast. i didn't exactly expect mitt romney to throw on a pair of

flip-flops and start saying "dude" during the california primary. why the double standard? >> he might. he might do that. >> we're very prideful down here. you ask a southerner who they are, what they are, one of the first things they're going to say is, i'm a southerner. a guy in front of me at a concert last night says, american by birth, southern by the grace of god. that's how we feel about our heritage down here. these guys know they have to connect with us on that level. but down here in the south, the one thing we dislike more than northerners are panderers. >> is it a little bit insulting they think they might be able to help attract votes by speaking the lingo? >> listen, we like pick-up trucks, shotguns, pretty girls and whiskey. but it ain't going to make you connect with us. >> when newt gingrich said he knew more about grits than mitt romney did, i actually believed

him on that. >> i think we all did. wesley and keith, good to see you both. thank you. we'll bring you special coverage on the results from louisiana at 9:00 here on msnbc. time for another edition of the rundown of today's number ones. we begin at the gas pumps. the leader of gasbuddy.com's dubious list, gary, indiana. the midwest has suffered the worst of the gas pains. chicago coming in second with a 70-cent hike. lansing and flint rank third and fourth. milwaukee rounding out the top five. we could do it. take off, live in the woods. >> they'd catch us. >> it is an instant box office hit. "the hunger games" raking in $19.7 million in yesterday's midnight showings. it is expected to earn up to $140 million and rank as one of

the biggest opening weekends of all time. debuting at the top of billboard's albums charts, one direction's "up all night." those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." play it to the break. ♪ [ groans ] pssst! don't go in there! it's your surprise party and we want this hair color to be party ready. let's get some dimensional color. now!? what if it comes out wrong? [ gigi ] nice 'n easy gets your right color every time.

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the first installment of what's expected to be hollywood's next mega franchise is in theaters right now. here is "the hunger games". >> this is the time to show them everything. make sure they remember you. >> i just keep wishing i could think of a way to show them that they don't own me. if i'm going to die, i want to still be me. >> i can't afford to think like that. >> lisha is here to tell us what to avoid at the box office over the weekend. that beard is a little freaky.

>> it is. >> must see, must avoid? >> this movie was so much fun. i saw it monday. it's amazing. absolute must-see. it's true to the books. if you love the books, you'll love this movie. 12k3w >> sounds good. how about "the raid redemption"? >> this is a must avoid if you're not into action flicks. it's an indonesian film, subtitles. but it's fighting after fighting after fighting after fighting. >> there's a love story getting good reviews, "the deep blue sea". >> it's a must see. it's about a love triangle and the emotion that is go with it. it's a must-see. >> we haven't heard that much about that film. >> you haven't heard a lot about it. it's a british film. it's been under the radar. thus one of those films people are going to talking about. >> anything come close to "hunger games" this weekend?

>> nothing. it's going to blow everyone out of the water. >> thank you. appreciate it. number three on our first five web stories, at&t and the blame game following its failed merger. he's what happened. the communications giant wanted to acquire, the moel usa for $39 billion. that deal was nixed by the fcc. now they're making major cuts to jobs. [ male announcer ] we put a week's worth of bad odors in a home.

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squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. we are now five months and three days from the republican national convention in tampa, florida. delegate counts and conventional wisdom, no pun intended, put mitt romney as the eventual

nominee. but with 659 more delegates needed to secure the ticket, a brokered convention is not out of the cards just yet. a new article in "u.s. news & world report" said that that scenario would ensure a victory for mitt romney in november. joining us is the author of that article, laura brown. welcome. thanks for being here. >> it's great to be on, alex. >> the question is, what would a brokered convention do to the republican party? >> well, really a brokered convention ends up splitting any party. it sort of brings out all of the factional problems that usually get papered over during the presidential nomination process. and certainly what we would see is that it would generate animosity and a great deal of contestation and eventual problems for the republicans. >> that happened in '76, the last time, right, when it was gerald ford and president reagan? was that sort of the tenor of things? >> yeah, absolutely.

you can look back in history and you can see these moments when two factional groups essentially fought it out at the convention and they ended up dividing the party and then they ended up losing the general election. >> in your article, you discuss the 2008 democratic primary between president obama and hillary clinton in which hillary clinton eventually stepped down and endorsed president obama. how important was that for the general election? >> i think it was very important because that was a long campaign. it was in some ways a very factional, sort of regional and ideological split within the party. in terms of the constituencies that both hillary and barack carried consistency through the states. and when hillary came out and made that statement about essentially coming back together, bringing the party back together, moving for acclamation, that was a statement.

she began her speech essentially saying, barack obama is my candidate and nothing is more important for the fate of our nation and the future of our children than having him elected. >> so this idea of her doing her duty and supporting him as the eventual nominee was just critical. >> what about the ten noer of things now. the passion that was there, evident in 2008, which we don't seem to see or feel much of this time around? what role does that play? >> i think it's important to understand that that was an open seat election. this is an incumbent election and it does create very different types of enthusiasm, gaps, turnout numbers, excitement levels among partisans. so 2008 was the first time that neither party really had a candidate since 1952. and this time around, we're

looking at something that happened much more akin to 2004 when george w. bush was running for a second term. >> in the beginning of your book "jockeying for the american presidency," you included a quote from president woodrow wilson who said a man engaged in party contests must be an opportunist. let us give up saying that word if it contained a slur. you want to lure the majority to your side. i never heard of a man in his senses who was fishing or a minority. was wilson talking about anyone this time around, mitt romney or otherwise? >> well, the reality is and what my book actually shows is all of those who eventually go on to win the presidency are for the most part opportunists. what i mean by that is there are people who are able to perceive the opportunities within the political system and exploit them to their advantage. and i used that quote from wilson because i do think that we have such a pejorative

understanding of that term when really all it means is that you're taking advantage of sort of the opportunity that is present itself. if one walks away from those, we tend to think someone is foolish. so i'm not so sure that any candidate who wins is sort of a negative aspect of that. >> villanova's lara brown, thank you so much. you're about to see a picture from a surprise appearance queen elizabeth made at a british couple's wedding. it turns out, the queen and prince philip planned a royal lunch at the location of their wedding. the couple sent the queen a lighthearted invitation. but the queen took a detour to wish the couple well moments after they were married, making for an unforgettable weddingday day gift.

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at the top of the hour, welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we begin with new developments in the shooting death of trayvon martin. the lawyer for admitted shooter george zimmerman is talking publicly and he says his client is not a racist. and he hasn't talked to his client in detail about the night in question. we're also hearing zimmerman react for the first time since the shooting game a national controversy. he left a voice mail for a supportive neighbor. and new protests are happening across the country today including this one in tampa. trayvon's former classmates will reportedly wear all black to school on monday. nbc's ron allen is live in sanford, florida. another good day to you. what's the latest. we apologize for the graphics technical problem there. good day, ron. >> reporter: and to you, alex. question, the biggest development, of course, is the appearance of this attorney who is speaking on behalf of george

zimmerman. even though he says he's not talked to zimmerman about the details of the case itself. he says zimmerman is very aware of the international controversy this has all caused, aware of the demand for justice and he's very aware of death threats that have been issued against him which is why he and his family are in hiding and plan to stay there. here's what else the attorney had to say about his assessment of the case so far. >> the ultimate issue is there was some kind of scuffle took place and there was a gun that was discharged and now there's a young man dead. so the issue is -- the ultimate issue is, was it self-defense in this case? and that's what all the evidence will hopefully lead a jury to discover. >> reporter: it's interesting that he said there will be a jury that will hear this because at this point, zimmerman has not been arrested and the police have not given any indication that they plan to do that as of yet. we've not heard from zimmerman

himself, of course, as you reported earlier except for a telephone message that he left with a neighbor, a neighbor who was also a member of a crime watch volunteer group that he was part of in that townhouse complex that he lived in. here's some of that message. >> i wanted to thank you for doing everything you've been doing. i know you don't have to and i appreciate it. and you're truly setting an example for me for the future of doing the right thing even when it's tough. >> reporter: so we hear his voice. but, again, we know very little about george zimmerman. he remains a mystery man. we know that he used to take classes at a local community college. the school's asked him to leave. we know where he used to live. that community asked him to leave as well. we think we know where he works but we don't know how he feels

about what's happening and we don't know what his explanation is for what happened on that night in question. alex? >> let's hope all those things are answered in due time. thank you very much, ron allen. right now, reverend al sharpton, a host here on msnbc, is holding a rally in harlem calling for trayvon martin's killer to be brought to justice. >> if you keep your eye on the prize and if you believe in a greater power, i don't care who thinks they're in charge in sanford, put your hoodies on, put your marching shoes on, don't give up, don't give out and your change will come. >> well, it has been 28 days since the 17-year-old martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. joining me now, marques claxton and also here in studio, msnbc contributor, joy ann reid. thank you both for joining us.

joy ann, what have you heard on the ground and a sense of where we are today, 28 days since the killing of trayvon? >> well, i think it was a combination of frustration but also really a sense of momentum. i think people in sanford and the tens of thousands of people who came from outside of that community to be there over the course of the last week, they really feel like they're making a difference, like they've moved things forward. but there is still a sense that the police department in sanford is dug in and is not allowing justice to be done. the police department is not changing its mind. bill lee, the police chief, stepped aside but he's also continued to stand by the investigation and his stepping down isn't permanent. so people still want an arrest, which now the police can't do. it's out of their hands. and people still want to see the chief completely cashiered permanently. >> the question to you, marques, did the sanford police department, from what you know, follow proper procedures? >> absolutely not. the sanford police department

has shown themselves to be completely incompetent in regards to this investigation. and a larger question, what about previous investigations? this is a police department that lacks the ability and the will to follow even the law. and that can't be tolerated. it's a good thing that the justice department has decided to, on some level, intervene in this case. however, the damage done by the sanford police department up to this point will make it even that much more difficult for the feds to come in and conduct a thorough investigation. >> marquez, what should have happened when police came on the scene and there was a dead 17-year-old on the ground, there was a man who had a gun who admitted to having shot him, what sort of procedures should they have followed? >> first and foremost, you're going to be establishing the crime scene at that location. and then as an investigator -- i was an investigator at the nypd

for several years -- you're going to begin to collect evidence. that evidence could be physical evidence. the crime scene will be photographed. there will be ballistics that will be examined and vouchered. witnesses will be contacted. there will be a major canvass in that particular area. and based on what i've heard actually occurred by the sanford police department shows quite clearly that they are not worthy of being called a law enforcement agency. never mind the head of that particular department, but it goes beyond that. there should be, there must be some experienced investigators in the sanford police department and if they drop the ball, it's not just the chief's fault, it's everybody's fault along the lines. >> marquez, there have been rumors that george zimmerman has left the country. would that be allowed? >> well, obviously at this point there's been no arrest of mr. zimmerman. there's been no arraignment of mr. zimmerman where -- that's usually the time when it would

be detailed what he can and cannot do. so based on all what's available right now, that would be permissible. however, it's been rumored that there's a so-called possible grand jury proceeding that's going on. subsequent to that and if there is an indictment, there will be major restrictions placed on mr. zimmerman. but right now, he's free and clear until some law enforcement agency wakes up and does the right thing in this case. >> joy-ann, based on your reporting on the ground there in sanford, do we know that the sanford police department is in contact with george zimmerman? >> we did get the sense when we were there that the police department basically -- they know where to find him. they know where he is. the belief among a lot of the reporters down there and the people we talked to is that george zimmerman is still in the area somewhere. there's a question that he might be in some sort of protective custody. no one knows exactly. but the sense is, yes, the police department knows how to contact him if they need to. however, there is no sense at all that the sanford police department are imminently going

to arrest him or are planning to do so. it really is now out of their hands. the sort of special prosecutor that's been appointed, angela corey, is now in charge of this investigation. she replaced the previous state attorney. you get the sense from the governor and the attorney general in florida on down, there wasn't a lot of confidence in the previous investigation. but either way, it's out of the police department's hands. >> can i ask you, george zimmerman reportedly is in hiding for fear of his life. do you think his fears are justifie justified? >> you didn't get the sense that there was a violent outrage in sanford. there's just a lot of frustration and anger. there are reports that he has received death threats. and he hasn't clearly from that phone call processed an emotional reaction of his own to the shooting. he didn't even address the death of trayvon. all he said was something about doing the right thing. so there's a sense of coldness to the response we've heard from him so far. we obviously don't know him. but i think it probably at this point is best for him to be in hiding. >> joe-ann reid and marquez claxton, thank you so much.

what's next in this case? florida's governor appointed that special team of prosecutors. they have begun an independent investigation into what happened that night. and the state will put together a task force to study the state's "stand your ground" law. leave your thoughts on msnbc.com. coming up today in about 20 minutes, the very powerful words of trayvon martin's father, his thoughts as he walks his son's final steps and recounts how a courageous trayvon once saved his life. president obama is on the way to south korea today. the president left on air force one early this morning. the president will not arrive in south korea until tomorrow. next week, the president will attend an international summit whose goal is to secure nuclear materials. 50 world leaders will also discuss the nuclear issues involving north korea and iran. the u.s. soldier arrested in afghanistan after the shooting rampage that left 17 villagers

dead is facing murder charges. john yang is how do you spell ft. leavenworth, kansas, where that soldier is being held. hello, once again, to you. >> reporter: hi, alex. this is a copy of the official charge sheet. it was read to staff sergeant robert bales yesterday as he sat in pretrial detention here at ft. leavenworth. it is a brutal and graphic document. 17 charges of premeditated murder against four men, four women, nine children. additionally, there are six charges of assault and attempted murder against six others, including four children. he is being held here at ft. leavenworth awaiting trial. analysts say the next step in this, a preliminary hearing may not come for months. and a trial itself may not come for more than a year. we don't know yet the maximum penalty for these charges is the death penalty. we don't know yet whether the

military will be seeking the death penalty when that comes. the last time the military executed a soldier was in 1961. there are currently about six military personnel on death row. but it has been a long time since they've executed anybody. as a matter of fact, here at ft. leavenworth at the maximum security prison known as the disciplina disciplinary barracks, they don't have the equipment to carry out an execution. they would have to be shiched out to the federal penitentiary in terre haute. but it would likely to be held at ft. lewis-mcchord, bales' home base. it's also closer to his wife. alex? >> nbc's john yang, thank you very much. up next, front-page politics, mitt romney's milestone in the polls and rick santorum's high hopes for bayou country. what do each really mean? you're watching "weekends with

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now to front-page politics and decision day in louisiana. 20 of the state's 46 delegates are up for grabs. today's gop primary, they are proportional and they are not winner-take-all. polls are open until 9:00 eastern time tonight. >> pretend it's obama. >> the secret service is looking into this incident during a rick santorum campaign stop in louisiana friday. firnls want to id and question the woman you heard there saying "pretend it's obama. santorum did not hear that comment. here's what he said later to

reporters -- >> i'm sorry. no, we're not pretending it's anybody. we're shooting pistols. very horrible and terrible remark. i'm glad i didn't hear it. >> newt gingrich campaigned in louisiana friday telling reporters he is staying in the race even though he recognizes he won't win enough delegates to become the republican nominee. >> this is either going to be romney or an open convention. santorum's not going to get to 1,144. i'm not going to get to 1,144. ron paul's not going to get to 1,144. >> joining me now, knee ya malik a henderson. let's go to the gop primary in louisiana. with this delegate lead, the

total number is widening and mitt romney's gap growing. how much will a win in louisiana really buy rick santorum? >> at the most, 20 delegates. he finds himself in a situation, santorum does, with this growing gap in a race all about delegate math and delegate count at this point. he is behind by about 300 delegates at this point. he sort of says, oh, this is romney math and he blames the press for buying into this delegate tally. but the truth is, as this thing goes on, this lead is likely only going to widen for mitt romney. santorum is going into an april where there's going to be tough, tough contests, big states. pennsylvania is up and he'll likely be able to win that. but wisconsin and maryland are states that are tailor-made for romney because they're more moderate states. in some of these states, santorum isn't on the ballot in these congressional districts. it's going to be a tough slog for him in april.

24 contest doesn't turn south until you have texas and other states. it's going to be tough for him. but he's vowing to stay in this thing. >> and santorum is not even on the ballot in d.c. daid, take a listen to what rick santorum said a few weeks ago at a leadership conference in pennsylvania. >> i've been hearing a lot of that throughout the course of this campaign, why don't you get out? so i said, you know, the reason i'm not getting out is because the people i'm actually talking to out there are supporting us when they hear from us. >> the latest gallup poll shows romney's lead increasing among republicans, now up to 40%. if santorum wins today in louisiana, david, what kind of momentum does that give him and what is the strategy to stay in the race if he can't get the number of delegates needed to win the nomination? >> well, it likely doesn't give him any momentum outside where he needs it. this is another southern state sort of in his breadbasket.

there's two competing arguments. one is the math and the polling, all which favors romney when you're talking about delegates and the national polling you just cited. but then there's the perception. and tonight if mitt romney does lose louisiana by double digits, even though there's only 20 delegates at stake tonight, you'll have some questions about, here he is again not able to shut down the deal in a southern state. does it really matter for the big picture? probably not. but this is the argument santorum is going to use. i also think -- you see the establishment really starting to coalesce around romney. jeb bush this week, senator jim demint saying he be excited about him. haley barbour saying he's now the real front-runner. santorum can use that as the foil talking to his constituents saying, see, they're telling me to get out. >> and senator jim demint carries a conservative banner, for him to go around mitt romney and endorse him and say, he's the guy, that says something.

i want to play another statement by rick santorum which makes headline this is week. let's take a listen to that. >> you win by giving people a choice. you win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country not someone who's just going to be a little different than the person in there. if they're going to be a little different, we might as stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the etch a sketch candidate for the future. >> so stay with what we have, presumably people were thinking that he's endorsing president obama. he later says, no, i'm not doing that, i'm going to vote for whoever the gop nominee is. how does he walk that statement back? >> he's been trying hard. you've seen a lot of pile-on from mitt romney and from donald trump as well saying, he's a supporter of obama and he wants to see obama back in the white house. he's making the point that they are the same in a lot of ways -- mitt romney and barack obama. his argument is that there's not much difference, that mitt romney is just a milder form of

president obama. and i think he just got a little carried away as rick santorum tends to do on the stump. but you have seen him try to walk that back. i was covering him in louisiana yesterday and he said, again, that whoever the nominee, he would stump for them and go out there and work to get the gop nominee elected to the white house. >> david, let's talk about what the president said and the gop candidates weighing in on the trayvon martin case. here's what the president said on friday. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son, he'd look like trayvon. >> after this, david, mitt romney, rick santorum, newt gingrich all coming out after the president called this a tragedy. why do you think we only heard them talk about this just this week, yesterday, in fact? why not sooner? >> if you go to earlier in the week, jay carney said the white house wasn't going to address it, the president wouldn't be addressing it.

what i think you heard from internal discussions in the white house was that while there is a lot of legal ramifications when the president speaks, since the justice department is involved, he believed that this was a moral issue and an opportunity for him to weigh in on something that had entranced the country, when you have protests about it, and the african-american community, obviously this is always a sensitive issue. an african-american president. he knows that. but i think the way he framed it was successful for him because he acted like a father in his comments and didn't talk about the legal ramifications. but just on the facts of this case that are known, he expre expressed real concern. and i think that that -- where newt gingrich coming out saying it was disgraceful for the president to inject race -- i don't think that that came off as well. mitt romney's statement was much different, showing why he's on

his way to the nomination and newt gingrich is probably not. >> david and nia, thank you both. we're going to be monitoring the primary in louisiana all day long for you and bringing you the results and analysis in a primetime special of alex wagner tonight. up next, a close call with some space junk and some spectacular sights out of this world. there's another way litter box dust:e purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder on dust. and our improved formulas neutralize odors better than ever in multiple-cat homes. so it's easier to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home.

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it was a very late notification. they found out that this chunk of an old russian satellite, which is debris from an explosion from a few years ago, was going to fly within about six, seven miles of the participation station. not enough time to move the participation station out of the way. the astronauts had to pile into their space capsules and wait it out. they had to be ready in case it hit the station. >> let's get to what is happening up in the skies. you look at the moon the last few weeks, you see a beautiful venus and jupiter, they're huge, prominent and bright. and we're all wishing upon these stars. >> it's an amazing sight. it's been going on for a few months. this weekend, venus and jupiter are going to be amazingly bright in the sky together. on sunday, the moon comes into the show. and on monday again, those three objects, you can't miss them in the night sky. venus is one of the brightest things up there, if the moon's not up.

they call it a conjunction when they're together. they're the brightest things in the night sky. >> but there have been points when you've had mercury low on the horizon, you've also had mars and you have saturn. >> that's right. saturn is coming up later in the evening. last weekend, it formed a triangle with the moon and a bright star. and if you wait out the night f you go out around sunset and if you get lucky enough, you can see all of these planets together in the sky, if your conditions are just right. venus, mercury -- venus and jupiter are unmistakable. the moon obviously is always a great show. they're in the west. the best time to see them, just after sunset, that's when they're the brightest. they set around the middle of the night. in the eastern sky, mars comes up. it's bright red and orange. and later in the evening, saturn pops up.

a little dimmer than the other ones. but it's a nice nightcap for the others. >> so exciting for us space lovers. thank you so much for coming in and giving us the heads-up. back here on earth, thousands are lining the streets of central mexico to get a sight of the pope. it's the beginning of pope benedict iii's visit. apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream? oil or cream? cream. reddi-wip uses real dairy cream. nothing's more real than reddi-wip.

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trayvon's father, tracy, through the sanford neighborhood as he followed his son's final steps. he revealed why traif season his hero. >> my says is that trayvon came through the gate, walked in through the sidewalk. from the 911 tapes, zimmerman did say that he was at the clubhouse, which the clubhouse is right here by the mailboxes. the easiest path to get home from there is if trayvon came straight down here, walked down this sidewalk and then down the back sidewalk. he's not interfering with anybody. i don't know. the police never actually walked me through the crime scene. all they just pointed out basically is where he was -- where he ended up dead at. if someone's here arguing and your window's open right there,

you can clearly hear the arguing. one of these windows -- i don't know which side that they did actually hear the cries for help. his feet were like on the sidewalk and his body was laid out this way. it wasn't even a football field length away from the back door. about 70 yards, 70 yards at best. he was trying to get home right down the street. i feel it was a cover-up from the beginning. honestly, i feel like they're hiding something. what is it they're hiding? i don't know. why they're protecting him so much, i have no idea. all i know is my kid is dead. he's not coming back. we if he had two more minutes, his life would have been spared. 120 seconds, his life would have

been spared. he was my hero. he saved my life, actually pulled me out of a house fire. he was 9 years old at the time. 9-year-old kid saved his dad's life. and i wasn't there to save his life. as a dad, that makes me feel bad, you know, because i know my son was depending on me to be his savior. and i couldn't save his life at that time. it's just a tragedy. it's sad, real sad. not a day goes by that i don't think about the "what ifs," what if he could have got home or what if zimmerman would have stayed in his car, what if he

had walked all the way around? it's just a bunch of "what ifs." he shouldn't have had to pay the price of life for trying to get home. that's an unjust. i don't know how to -- how i'm going to recover from this loss. it's tough. it's tough. he didn't deserve to die. he didn't deserve it. >> that aired on "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton on wednesday. let's go now to this week's big three. focuses on the trayvon martin as well as reaction from politicians, including three of the republican presidential candidates. >> the shooting of trayvon is a terrible tragedy, unnecessary, uncalled for. and inexplicable at this point. >> "stand your ground" is not what this man did.

there's a difference between "stand your ground" and doing what he did. it's a horrible case. it's chilling to hear what happened. >> it's a tragedy. and in that sense, you have to understand how much of a tragedy it is for the family and for the young man involved. >> my panel this week, jackie kucinich, susan dellpersio and joy-ann reid. let's listen to this statement -- >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son, he'd look like trayvon. >> now take a listen to what newt gingrich said about that on a radio talk show friday -- >> what the president said in a sense is disgraceful. any young american of any ethnic background should be safe, period, is the president

suggesting that if it had been a white who had been shot, that would have been okay, because it didn't look like him? that's just nonsense. dividing this country up -- we ought to talk about being americans, when things go wrong to an american, it's sad for all americans. and trying to turn it into a racial issue is fundamentally wrong. and i really find it appalling. >> here's how gingrich's comments were criticized -- gingrich is committing the cardinal sin of conflating ethnic ground for race. >> what's disgraceful and embarrassing for mr. gingrich is that he's trying to appeal to the tiny sliver of even conservatives who see things in terms of -- the president, i think, was aking in the ceremonial duty, his comments were spot-on. for gingrich to try to appeal to that small sliver of

conservatives -- the way he speaks is so inflammatory and ugly and frankly embarrassing for him and disgraceful, to use his word. >> susan, do you think this is a reach by a gop candidate to try to criticize the president for what has largely been perceived as a very powerful and heartfelt statement across both parties? >> i have to agree with joy-ann. it was ugly, disgraceful and frankly stupid as well. i have no idea what mr. gingrich could be thinking about attacking the president on his comments. yo one can't say they weren't thoughtful and delivered well to the country and very well-received. i have no idea what he was thinking. >> is there anything president obama can say that newt gingrich would not oppose? >> it's newt gingrich being newt gingrich. the thing to remember, this is a candidate -- we're talking about him again. he's a candidate whose campaign hasn't been doing too well and will get attention in a lot of different ways. gingrich needs the attention.

>> even though this is somewhat negative. how difficult is the president in when it comes to speaking publicly about this? you have to think about to '09 and the arrest of harvard professor gates and that whole beer summit. >> i got the sense that the comment that preceded the beer summit were more spontaneous on the thought of the president. this statement was thoughtfully crafted. he wanted to weigh in on a way that was careful. but it really spoke to his unique position as a black man. this is the first time we've had an african-american president who can both relate to the way trayvon martin was criticized as a young black teenager because he used to be one and also someone speaking as a father and as the national leader. we've never seen him get this personal. >> isn't this exactly what a president should do? express empathy and in doing so, did he hit the right tone? >> i think he did hit the right tone. there was a lot of thought on

his response. there's no question. and it would have seemed out of place if he doesn't address it, especially as the first black president. so i think not only did he hit the right tone, he sent the right message. >> jackie, do you think we'll hear further from the president on this issue? >> i don't know that he will. he made his statement. i think it had a lot of reach, and i think at this point he's leaving it up to the justice department. he can't really say any more than that. >> you all stand by. in just a moment, office politics with david wilson on the president's reelection hopes. that's on the other side of a break here on "weekends with alex witt." tle emotional hetlretl?tl aren't you getting a little industrial? okay, there's enough energy right here in america. yeah, over 100 years worth. okay, so you mean you just ignore the environment. actually, it's cleaner. and, it provides jobs. and it helps our economy. okay, i'm listening. [announcer] at conoco phillips we're helping power america's economy

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>> i think he still has an uphill battle, particularly when it comes to the african-american vote and the minority vote in the sense that there have been so many of these voter id laws popping up. by some estimates, 5 million people who voted in 2008 may not be eligible to vote in 2012. >> where's the passion? is it right there as on fire as it was back in '08? >> you know, i'm not sure if it's there. i think the element of history isn't as strong. you can only elect the first african-american president once. and so i think this time around -- i think the challenge is getting people excited, getting the base excited. but one sort of note of caution i would issue for republicans is, if they make this a racially charged or racially tinged

campaign, they will be doing president obama a huge favor because i think they will mobilize the african-american vote and you will see a lot more african-americans rallying behind the president in bigger numbers than they probably would have. >> your grio.com readers, what are their number one issues for 2012? >> there are a lot of issues. you talk about the economy. african-americans are d disproportionately impacted by the economy. >> so it's jobs? >> it's jobs. you're going to see african-americans engaged in this campaign -- it's not just because president obama's black. there is a lot of cultural pride. but i think they're going to also want president obama to answer some questions about what he plans to do in his next term that's going to make sure that we all get working again. >> how proud are you of

thegrio.com's success? it's huge. >> we launched it in 2009. we've become one of the largest african-american sites, period, that's out there. we call what we d do here, the trickle-up effect where we find the story and it cycles up. it ends up on "nightly news," msnbc, the "today" show. we contribute to this already great news organization. we started because we -- two of my former business partners, now colleagues, we produced a documentary back in -- >> is this about you going and looking for david wilson? >> yes. >> you're david a. >> i'm david a. wilson. it was about my journey to find today's rachel disparities. i discovered a plantation in

north carolina where my ances r ancestors were enslaved. it was owned by a 62-year-old white man who was a descendant of my ancestors. he had the same name, daift wilson. i don't know of any other news organization, particularly in the broadcast and cable space, would have had the ability and the foresight to launch thegrio and not only launch it but make it a part of the fabric of what it does every day. >> that is just so awesome. seriously, it's so good. it is, it's a great website. our conversation with david continues at this time tomporro. we'll discuss the trayvon martin shooting and the warnings that david's parents gave him about being a black man in america. and what is rick santorum advocating voting for president obama? the big three is next. nner cowb. instead i got heartburn.

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back with our big 3 panel.

we talked about the trayvon martin case. now we'll tackle big easy, big deal and never mind. let's bring back the panel. jackie, we are going to start with today's gop primary in louisiana. rick santorum has been ahead in all the polls. how long can a louisiana win sustain his campaign? >> i don't know it can sustain it that long. any other candidate get more than 25% of the vote, there are 20 delegates at stake. if anyone gets more than 25% of the vote they are rewarded proportionally. it doesn't help santorum? the math department. it's the same place he won before in a lot of ways. it's not going to sustain him that long, i don't think. >> what do you think a santorum win does overall for the gop? >> it makes this go on longer. win or lose, santorum would keep

going on. it doesn't really affect his probabilities of getting the nomination because mathematically it's not possible. >> rick santorum, newt gingrich, ron paul, all refusing to quit the race. if they stay in till the convention, what does that mean for mitt romney? >> newt gingrich and ron paul don't affect things at this point. they are getting 6%, 7%. i think they are irrelevant. santorum staying in hurts romney because it keeps pulling hip to the right. as he tries to get to santorum's right, i think mitt romney is hurting himself more and more. >> you don't want him to go too right because in general he'll have to go more to the center? >> like an etch-a-sketch. >> oh, we'll get to that. rick santorum's "never mind" moment. >> you win by giving people a choice. you win by giving people the

opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not somebody a little different than the person in there if we are going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk at what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> the implication interpretation there that he said woe vote for obama, which he walked back and said he's not going to do that. how does he walk back? >> he can't effectively do it. people don't forget. thanks to youtube no one else will forget. those words will be used against romney since he is most likely going to be the nominee. that's something the base of the party does not like to hear. when you're dealing with super pacs and people supporting republicans, they don't want to see that either. that could hurt him on the super pac level. >> any way this will hurt him today in louisiana? >> the polls are showing him with a hefty lead. i think susan's right. this could potentially hurt him going forward. i know a lot of conservatives

that were not pleased with that remark. >> we'll make nick our producer happy and get to the best and worst of the week. >> president obama had the best week. his comments on trayvon martin were spot on. worst is a tie with newt gingrich who disgraced himself with the response to the obama remarks and mitt "etch-a-sketch" romney. >> the best is the ohio company maker of etch-a-sketch. their stock went from $5 to $9 this week. my losers are those poor staffers that had to try to find etch-a-sketches at a moment's notice. that could not have been easy. there are not a lot of toys "r" us. >> hillary clinton was mentioned as a 2016 candidate and rick santorum had the worst week for the stupid remarks we just talked about. >> that's a wrap, everyone. you hit it on the nose. see you tomorrow at noon

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